Banks to share fraud data with tech firms in cross-sector collaboration

Banks and tech firms are coming together in an initiative to share information on fraud to give them visibility of the attacks targeted at customers.

The collaboration is part of Stop Scams UK’s intelligence-sharing pilots, which have brought together banks such as HSBC, NatWest and Santander with tech firms Amazon, Google and Meta.

Mobile telecommunications firm Three, BT, challenger bank Monzo, Lloyds Bank and tech giant Meta are among the members that published the Stop Scams UK joint statement.

According to the joint statement: “[This year] presents a unique opportunity for collaboration. Through Stop Scams UK, tech, telecoms companies, and financial services providers have joined forces to share technology, data and intelligence to combat fraudsters on the platforms where they operate, helping to boost consumer confidence and promote economic growth.”

“Following a successful proof of concept, we have developed a series of data and intelligence-sharing pilots that are proving we can get ahead of fraudsters. Now marks the moment to accelerate, build and scale,” it stated.

According to Stop Scams UK, fraud accounts for 41% of all crime in England and Wales, so “effective detection and prevention requires collaboration among industry, government, and law enforcement”.

James Babbage, director general (Threats) at the National Crime Agency, said Stop Scams UK is “enabling and supporting the sharing of data to prevent crime”. 

“UK victims are being targeted by fraudsters on an industrial scale, both from within the country and from overseas,” he said. “In response, the National Crime Agency is working closely with partners across the world to disrupt scammers and tackle the abuse of cyber and financial enablers they rely on.”

He said partnerships between the public and private sectors are vital to prevent scammers from defrauding people and businesses.

There have been calls for tech firms to share with banks some of the burden for the high cost of fraud emanating online. In 2021, Anne Boden, founder and former CEO of Starling Bank, called for cooperation between sectors to clamp down on authorised push payment (APP) fraud.

In a blog post at the time, Boden said other sectors must shoulder some responsibility for APP scams, particularly social media platforms. “Banks invest billions of pounds in tackling economic crime, but we cannot stop it on our own,” she wrote.

“Very often, [social media] accounts are used for advertising for ‘money mules’ for the purposes of money laundering, selling stolen identity and credit card data, phishing, bogus investment scams and impersonation fraud.”

Boden said banks “seem to have become the underwriter of all kinds of fraud that are not really financial fraud at all”.

As a founding member of Stop Scams UK, we welcome the opportunity to work together with the technology and telecommunications sectors, regulators, government, and law enforcement to combat fraud

Vim Maru, CEO of Barclays UK, said: “As a founding member of Stop Scams UK, we welcome the opportunity to work together with the technology and telecommunications sectors, regulators, government, and law enforcement to combat fraud.” 

Monzo’s director of fraud and disputes risk, Rich Bromley, said: “Industry cross-collaboration and data sharing is key to supercharging this even further as we continue our work to outpace criminals’ tactics and keep our customers’ money safe.” 

Exchanging insights will help build a stronger “defence network”, according to Scott Knapp, vice-president of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon: “Collaborating with industry peers and government partners helps us stay ahead of bad actors and better protect consumers,” he added. 

Last year, a Which?-led coalition of banks and telecoms operators called on the newly instated Labour government to take the lead on enabling data sharing to help fight digital fraud.