Exclusive: Aspen Institute takes next step to stop scammers
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The Aspen Institute is launching a new initiative to mobilize its national anti-scam strategy, released last year, the organization exclusively shared with Axios.
Why it matters: Scams are continuing to proliferate, creating more incentive for partnership models where companies can trade notes on what's working or not in their efforts to crack down.
Driving the news: Aspen's Financial Security Program is standing up a new Scam Prevention Initiative with several technology, financial services and retail companies.
- Founding members include Apple, Block, Capital One, Citizens Financial Group, Gen, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Match Group, Microsoft, PayPal, Target, Walmart and Zelle.
- The initiative creates a forum where members can coordinate the work they're pursuing to spot and counter scammers targeting Americans.
Between the lines: Aspen's new Scam Prevention Initiative joins a growing list of cross-sector efforts to crack down on scams, including fraudulent texts and robocalls.
- Eleven major technology and retail companies signed an accord earlier this year to share threat intelligence about scammers.
- "Over time, success should look like stronger coordination, better prevention outcomes, improved measurement and evidence that scam activity and consumer harm are being reduced," Kate Griffin, director of the Scam Prevention Initiative, told Axios.
Threat level: Americans lost nearly $21 billion from scams and online fraud last year, according to the FBI's annual internet crime report.
What's next: One of the initiative's first steps will be to convene a dialogue on the scam prevention efforts each member is pursuing, Griffin told Axios.
- The initiative hopes to create a seamless way for companies to share internal data and insights among each other.
