Banks and Telecoms Are Struggling to Share Scam Data

Banks, telecoms and tech platforms recognize that sharing scam-related data in real time could help reduce fraud losses, but privacy rules and regulatory limits too often get in the way of new initiatives. Those scams are expected to worsen as fraudsters scale up attacks with artificial intelligence tools.

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“One of the choke points would be in the concern over sharing personal identifiable information,” said Jennifer Quaid, executive director at the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange, which co-launched the Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition with banks, telecom companies, payment providers, law enforcement agencies and government regulators.

“Some of the regulations – not just privacy but also the regulatory environment – prevent organizations from sharing information in real time, or limits what can be shared,” she said. In addition to banks and telecoms, the need for information sharing also includes payment providers, fintech companies and social media platforms, she said.

In this video interview with ISMG, Quaid also discussed:

• How AI is improving the effectiveness of scams, by scraping social media posts to create more personalized fraud schemes;
• Why decades-old scams still work;
• The 12- to 18-month outlook for scam prevention in Canada.

Quaid leads the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange, Canada’s preeminent private sector organization for cross-sector collaboration, enabling cyber resilience and preparedness for its members. She was previously director of people and operations at Gryphon Secure where she led the integration of technical teams in Finland, Canada and the United States.