How the SCAM Act would encourage platforms to go after scammers
ABA Fraudcast
Major tech platforms make billions of dollars from scammers who advertise on their sites, , and there’s not much incentive for them to change their practices — yet. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) , which would take steps to tackle these scams. ABA strongly supports the SCAM Act, and on this crossover episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast and ABA Fraudcast, Paul Benda discusses: How the SCAM Act would introduce new know-your-customer and takedown requirements for tech platforms. Why there aren’t sufficient existing incentives for platforms to deal with the...
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Who is calling me?
ABA Fraudcast
Criminals are calling bank customers. A lot. And those calls often are successfully cloaked as originating from banks themselves. Increasingly, these calls are originating from vast operation centers, often overseas, where the objective is to fool bank customers to hand over personal data and information. There are some steps banks, their customers, federal agencies and even Congress can take to address this growing problem. Joining ABA’s Paul Benda to discuss these issues on this edition of the ABA Fraudcast are Mike Rudolph, chief technology officer at YouMail, and Jonathan Thessin, VP and...
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FTC report shows how elder fraud is expanding
ABA Fraudcast
A focus on elder fraud kicks off Season 2 of the ABA Fraudcast, as Paul Benda interviews Lois Greisman, associate director of the Federal Trade Commission's division of marketing practices. They discuss , issued in December, that reveals a big increase in the number of older adults reporting losses of more than $100,000 to scams. The will be published every three weeks, here and wherever you listen to and subscribe to your favorite podcasts, such as Apple and Spotify. Please subscribe! to help banks prevent, identify, measure and report fraud, and to serve and protect consumers and their...
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From Australia, an ecosystem approach to reducing financial scams
ABA Fraudcast
On this edition of the ABA Fraudcast, Chris Taylor of the Australian Banking Association describes his country’s multi-component approach that has resulted in a 26% reduction in scam losses, an effort that includes partnerships with telecoms and establishment of its . The will be published every three weeks, here and wherever you listen to and subscribe to your favorite podcasts, such as Apple and Spotify. Please subscribe! to help banks prevent, identify, measure and report fraud, and to serve and protect consumers and their financial data. ABA’s #BanksNeverAskThat and...
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The bank that breaks the spell
ABA Fraudcast
Assisting bank customers who are the victims of scams after the fact is difficult enough for banks. But what happens when a scam is not only on-going but may even be literally unknown to the victim? Santander UK decided to create a team trained in rescuing customers involved in such increasingly common financial scams. Paul Benda, ABA’s EVP for risk, fraud and cybersecurity, discusses the history of that bank's Break the Spell team with Chris Ainsley and Michelle Pilsworth from Santander UK. The team is specially trained to do just what its name indicates: interrupt scams in real time to...
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The urgency of scam prevention as a national priority
ABA Fraudcast
Inaction is not an option. That is the thesis of , a new report from the Aspen Institute. Discussing the report’s recommendations and insights on this edition of the ABA Fraudcast is Kate Griffin, director of Aspen’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. “The very first call to action is simply that we say that scam prevention needs to be identified as a national priority for us as a country,” Griffin tells ABA’s Paul Benda. The will be published every three weeks, at the and wherever you listen to and subscribe to your favorite podcasts, such as Apple and Spotify....
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Taking the fraud prevention message directly to lawmakers
ABA Fraudcast
Big problems require big ideas. How about establishing a White House office of fraud and scam prevention? Or closing loopholes so telecoms stop spoof calls and texts? And ensuring social media companies quickly take down impersonation accounts? On this edition of the ABA Fraudcast, we include Paul Benda's opening statement addressing these challenges and others as delivered recently to the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as his analysis of the urgency of a coordinated response from lawmakers and law enforcement. Read Paul Benda's and check out...
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Enhancing security with .bank domain registration
ABA Fraudcast
On this episode of the ABA Fraudcast, we dive into how the Internet works — and why it’s so easy for criminals to create fake bank websites. We’ll explore how these sites get taken down and what banks can do to combat this growing threat. Our guest, Craig Schwartz of fTLD Registry Services, breaks down the key differences between traditional .com domains and the more secure .bank domain — a top-level domain created by a consortium led by the American Bankers Association and other partners specifically to reduce fraud. Schwartz explains the rigorous security measures behind .bank,...
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Elder fraud threats and state hold laws
ABA Fraudcast
As elder fraud skyrockets, banks are actively seeking the best strategies to protect their customers, including proper use of “hold” laws to delay transactions in suspected cases of exploitation. In this episode of the ABA Fraudcast, ABA’s Paul Benda addresses these important issues with guests Barb Graziano, VP, internal audit, compliance and BSA officer for First Seacoast Bank in New Hampshire, and Sam Kunjukunju, VP consumer education and community engagement, who discusses ABA’s , which has valuable information for banks.
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How the ABA Foundation helps banks protect their customers
ABA Fraudcast
One of the major efforts from the very busy team at the ABA Foundation these days is helping bankers help older Americans protect themselves from scams. The Foundation's Safe Banking for Seniors program focuses on a number of ways seniors can avoid financial danger. "We provide and materials to help bankers lead personal finance presentations with kids, young adults and seniors in their communities," explains Sam Kunjukunju, ABA's VP for consumer education, in this episode of the ABA Fraudcast. "Unfortunately the criminals are definitely targeting Americans of all ages, and it's very...
info_outlineIn the latest episode of the biweekly Pandemic Update podcast, ABA SVP Paul Benda discusses cases plateauing nationally but rising in 15 states, second booster shots and when to get them, virus mutations, some good news on recovered immunity and things to look for in the future.