The Global Fight Against Scams: What the U.S. Can Learn from Australia and the UK

Scams are evolving at an alarming rate, costing consumers billions of dollars and shaking trust in financial institutions. The latest FBI Fraud report reveals a staggering $16.6 billion in reported scam losses in 2024—an increase of 33% from $12.5 billion the previous year. Meanwhile, other countries are making significant strides in scam prevention, proving that coordinated efforts across industries can yield tangible results.

Australia and the UK have adopted proactive measures to combat fraud, leading to noticeable reductions in scam-related losses. The U.S., however, lags behind in implementing a cohesive national strategy. What can we learn from global initiatives, and what steps should financial institutions and regulators take to strengthen scam defenses?

Australia’s Groundbreaking Scam Prevention Framework

Australia has emerged as a leader in scam prevention with its Scam Prevention Framework, a multi-industry approach involving banks, telecom companies, digital platforms, and the government.

Key Components of Australia’s Approach:

✅ Collaboration Across Industries: The Australian government mandated cooperation between financial institutions, telecom providers, and digital platforms to combat scams. The National Anti-Scam Centre serves as a hub for intelligence sharing and rapid response.
✅ Data Sharing for Real-Time Scam Prevention: Banks and telecoms were granted regulatory exemptions to facilitate cross-industry fraud data sharing, ensuring that scam reports from one institution immediately inform others.
✅ Call Authentication and Spoofing Prevention: International calls can no longer be disguised as local numbers, reducing impersonation scams.✅ Reimbursement Guidelines & Consumer Protections: Banks are increasingly offering fraud reimbursements under certain conditions, further incentivizing scam prevention.

The results speak for themselves: Australia saw an almost 30% reduction in scam losses in just one year, proving that when industries work together, scams can be curtailed effectively.

The UK’s Regulatory Push: Mandatory Reimbursement & Industry Action

The UK has also taken bold steps toward scam prevention, focusing on consumer reimbursement and regulatory enforcement.

Key Components of the UK’s Scam Prevention Strategy:

✅ Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM): Introduced in 2019, this policy initially encouraged banks to voluntarily reimburse scam victims. In 2024, reimbursement became mandatory, pushing banks to adopt stronger scam detection and prevention measures.✅ Online Safety Act: Enforced in 2024, this legislation compels social media and digital platforms to remove fraudulent content, preventing scammers from reaching potential victims.✅ Scam Signal Intelligence Sharing: UK financial institutions receive alerts about scam-related activity, including phone numbers used for scam calls, enhancing fraud detection efforts.
✅ "Break the Spell" Interventions: Banks are training staff to recognize victims under scammer influence and intervene before transactions are completed.

While the UK has seen moderate reductions in scam losses, the overall approach demonstrates how a combination of industry regulation, intelligence sharing, and proactive fraud prevention can significantly impact consumer protection.

The U.S. Landscape: Fragmented and Lagging Behind

Despite escalating scam losses, the U.S. has yet to adopt a unified approach to fraud prevention. Several major challenges remain:

• Lack of Cross-Industry Collaboration: Unlike Australia and the UK, U.S. regulations limit real-time data sharing between financial institutions, telcos, and digital platforms, making scam detection slower.
• Minimal Financial Institution Accountability: While Zelle introduced limited reimbursement for scams, other payment platforms and banks are not uniformly required to offer refunds, leaving consumers vulnerable.
• Limited Tech Company Involvement: Unlike in Australia and the UK, U.S. social media platforms and telecom providers have little obligation to monitor and prevent scam-related activity.
• Regulatory Uncertainty: The U.S. relies on outdated financial crime laws that do not explicitly address modern scam tactics, such as AI-driven deepfake fraud and cryptocurrency-based schemes.

As a result, scams continue to rise, and consumers bear the financial and emotional burden of fraud.

What Can U.S. Financial Institutions Do?

While regulatory changes take time, financial institutions and fintech providers can take proactive steps today to mitigate scams.

1. Develop a Written Scam Prevention Strategy

Banks should formalize scam prevention efforts with a clear strategy that includes:

• Enhanced fraud detection systems
• Customer education initiatives
• Collaboration with other financial institutions and industry partners

2. Strengthen Fraud Controls and Intelligence Sharing

• Implement behavioral biometrics and confirmation-of-payee systems to detect unusual transactions.
• Advocate for regulatory exemptions that allow fraud data sharing between institutions.
• Deploy fraud reporting exchanges, allowing receiving banks to be alerted when a scam occurs.

3. Improve Customer Interaction and Education

• Train frontline staff to recognize scam indicators and intervene effectively.
• Enhance customer notifications with real-time scam warnings.
• Partner with law enforcement and fintech firms to empower consumers with scam detection tools.

4. Address the Growing Threat of AI-Driven Scams

• AI-generated deepfakes and voice cloning are already being used in romance scams, investment fraud, and executive impersonation schemes. Financial institutions must invest in AI-powered fraud detection tools to counteract these sophisticated threats.

5. Advocate for Regulatory Change

• Banks, payment platforms, and telcos must push for legislation that facilitates cross-industry fraud prevention, similar to Australia’s approach.
• Support policies that encourage real-time transaction monitoring and scam intelligence sharing across financial institutions.

Conclusion: The Time for Action is Now

The U.S. has an opportunity to learn from countries that are leading the fight against scams. Australia’s multi-industry approach and the UK’s reimbursement mandates have proven that proactive collaboration, data sharing, and regulatory support make a difference.

For financial institutions, taking action now means not only protecting consumers but also reducing operational costs, preventing deposit losses, and preserving customer trust. Scams are becoming more sophisticated, but by implementing preventative measures today, banks can stay ahead of the fraudsters.

Want to Learn More?

At RangersAI, we’re committed to helping financial institutions implement cutting-edge scam prevention strategies. Learn more about how we can help: RangersAI.com

‍