MEF has arguably done more than any trade body to combat mobile-based scams. We know a lot about the cost of fraud, the techniques and the defences. Now, we have consolidated our knowledge into a yearbook. MEF Features Editor Tim Green describes why…
Here’s a new symptom of life in the 2020s: parents are giving their children ‘safe words’. Why is this? Because of AI voice cloning fraud.
The scam works as follows. A parent receives a panicked call from his or her child. The kid explains he’s been in an accident or abducted or something similar. The parent must send money now.
Only it is not the child. It’s a fraudster who has taken a few of the child’s spoken words and used them to create a perfect voice clone.
The crime is spreading fast. Reports say families lose an average of $11,000 in these scams. So now parents are being encouraged to have a secret family word they can use to beat the criminals.
Voice cloning is, of course, a phone-based fraud – the latest in a lengthy list. Hardly surprising. The mobile channel has proved something of a gift to scammers. It offers a source of valuable information (thanks to social media, messaging etc) they can use to profile their targets. And the personal nature of mobile ensures they are much more likely to get a response than with, say, email.
MEF has arguably done more than any other industry organisation to counter the threat of mobile-based fraud. Over the last few years our members have worked together to develop anti-fraud tech, self-regulation schemes, education programmes and government consultation. There’s a lot to say about the changing nature of mobile fraud – and the many projects that MEF and its members have launched. So we have decided to say it in our first ever anti-fraud yearbook.”
According to a Federal Trade Commission report, US consumers alone lost $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022. Yes, very depressing.
But on the flipside, people, companies and industry stakeholders are now building up their collective defences against the fraudsters. The tools are better. And there’s more awareness than there has ever been.
MEF has arguably done more than any other industry organisation to counter the threat of mobile-based fraud. Over the last few years our members have worked together to develop anti-fraud tech, self-regulation schemes, education programmes and government consultation.
There’s a lot to say about the changing nature of mobile fraud – and the many projects that MEF and its members have launched. So we have decided to say it in our first ever anti-fraud yearbook.
Inside, you’ll find all the most important information about the problem and the fight back in one place. Content includes:
- An overview of all key MEF anti-fraud activity
- Key market stats – impact and forecasts
- A review of business messaging fraud
- A review of ad fraud
- A review of DCB fraud
- A summary of technical fraud defences and regulation
The impetus behind the yearbook is to spread awareness of this perennial and costly problem. According to one report losses to online fraud between 2023 and 2027 could exceed $343 billion.
But that’s just to consider consumer losses. As the MEF community knows too well, much fraud comes from within. Consider the estimated $68 billion cost of digital ad fraud. Here, the cost is borne by brands and ad providers that pay for non-existent or non-human customers.
Then there is business messaging based fraud. Grey routes, for example, could leak $37.1 billion by 2024. Grey routes aren’t necessarily illegal, but they do bypass legitimate channels. The result is lost income for MNOs. Some estimates suggest up to 45 percent of all A2P messaging is being sent via these routes.
The fight against fraudsters is, regrettably, a forever war. Criminals simply have too many incentives to keep doing what they do. But the good guys are similarly motivated. They won’t stop either.
Information sharing is vital to the cause. So if you care about this issue, download the MEF Anti-Fraud Yearbook now.
Download the MEF Anti-Fraud Yearbook Now
MEF’s Members have been combating fraud for 20 years. Today, MEF leads the fightback via a combination of technical defences, information sharing and self-regulation.
This yearbook – the first ever on anti-fraud – is part of that defence. In it, we will define the various fraud types, gauge their impact, assess the defence options and track the important changes that occurred during 2022.
Download Now
