Exclusive: New playbook to fight scams calls for government crackdown

A group of more than 80 leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors are calling for a whole-of-government strategy to crack down on scams, according to a new strategy proposal shared first with Axios.

The big picture: Last year, Americans lost more than $158 billion to fraud and scams, or roughly $300,476 per minute, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

• Scams are about more than just filling the bank accounts of one-off cybercriminals: They're often linked back to complex overseas operations that fund various regimes.
• Yet companies and law enforcement have often worked in silos when trying to crack down.

Threat level: Advancements in AI tools will make it easier for scammers to target even more people.

• Scammers can use audio deepfakes to trick people into thinking their loved one is really on the phone asking for money, or use ChatGPT to create fake identification documents.

Driving the news: The Aspen Institute's National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention published a 116-page strategy for fighting scams and sent a letter to Congress today calling on policymakers to make the issue a top priority.

• "This is a different kind of crime, and we can't do it alone," Kate Griffin, director of inclusive financial system at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, told Axios.
• The task force includes nearly 80 members of the public and private sectors, including major technology vendors, telecommunications providers and federal law enforcement agencies.

Zoom in: Some of their recommendations include:

• Modernizing the way key law enforcement databases that track scams collect and share data;
• Enacting liability protections for companies to share information about how scams have targeted individuals, given most cyber information-sharing laws have only been applied in the context of hackers targeting companies;
• Applying sanctions and diplomatic pressures on foreign governments and private organizations that aren't perceived to be taking scam activity seriously;
• Exploring the creation of a U.S. National Anti-Scam Center, modeled after similar organizations in the U.K., Australia and Singapore;
• Encouraging the private sector to develop new consumer-facing tools and technologies that can stop scams as they happen.

Between the lines: Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention and programs at AARP, a member of the task force, told Axios that coordination is the only way to squash scams.

• "We coordinate much worse than the criminals do," Stokes said.
• For years, companies, law enforcement and other nonprofits would over emphasize the need to educate the public about how to spot scams. But Stokes notes that the new strategy goes beyond that, because "we cannot educate our way out of the fraud crisis."

The intrigue: Many task force members have already started working on programs that follow the strategy's recommendations.

• AARP has a Fraud Watch Network, which offers a free helpline for people who have been targeted by scams and connects them with law enforcement as needed.
• Visa, another member, created its own internal scam detection practice this year that proactively hunts and takes down scams on its own payment networks and beyond.

What's next: Several current government officials are already a part of the task force, and the Aspen Institute plans to continue to use its convening power to bring people across sectors together to keep working on these issues, Griffin said.

• "We're here to keep creating the spaces where those leaders can come together to turn that blueprint into action."