Meta and UK banks share data to combat scams
Meta has begun collaborating with UK banks through its new Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE), which shares data with financial institutions to help stop scams.
FIRE will enable banks to share intelligence directly with Meta, giving it better information to tackle scams and protect its users. An initial pilot of the platform has helped stop a large concert ticket scam network targeting people in the UK and US.
Read on to discover how the new platform works.
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How FIRE helps tackle scams
Whether it's dodgy ads, hacked accounts or hoax posts, many scams begin on social media and end with money being taken from the victim’s bank account.
NatWest and Metro Bank are the first banks in the UK to join FIRE’s pilot scheme, which shares information with Meta to train its systems to fight scams.
So far, 185 web addresses shared with Meta by banks have helped to remove around 20,000 social media accounts run by scammers, and more banks are set to join the scheme.
- Read more: 'A scammer tried to sell me Taylor Swift tickets'
How data sharing can prevent fraud
Recent Which? research found that not all organisations involved in identifying and preventing fraud are currently sharing their fraud data from victim reports with one another.
Three quarters of people* we surveyed said they were comfortable with their data about a scam they experienced being shared across organisations to help prevent future scams. Four in 10 were ‘fairly comfortable’, and a third said they were ‘very comfortable’.
We also discovered that most victims report fraud to their banks, with six in 10 doing so. Indicating the importance of banks sharing fraud intelligence with other relevant organisations.
Which?’s response to Meta’s FIRE
Which? believes that a more comprehensive understanding of the broader fraud landscape is needed to combat fraud, which can be achieved - in part - by cross-sector organisations sharing intelligence.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said:
‘While it's a positive step that Meta is partnering with UK banks to combat scams, much greater collaboration between key businesses and government is needed to put an end to the fraud epidemic.
‘Until now, the government and businesses such as online platforms, banks and telecoms firms have largely operated in silos and do not share the data they have on how these fraudsters operate - making it much harder to stop scams reaching victims in the first place.
‘To tackle fraud, the government should lead a more coordinated approach by encouraging sectors to share data and stop scams spreading. New duties - equivalent to the obligations being introduced for banks and online platforms - should be placed on telecom providers, online advertising providers and domain registrars to ensure they verify the legitimacy of users.’
- Join our campaign to Stamp out Scams: Scammers steal hundreds of millions from innocent victims every year. The government and businesses need to do more to protect us from scams.
*Focaldata, on behalf of Which? conducted an online survey of 1,013 victims in the UK who had lost money to fraud in the past two years. The survey was conducted between 4 and 15 April 2024.
