GASS 2025: Turning Talk into Action Against Global Scams

The Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) 2025 in London, organized by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), sent a clear message: with annual global consumer losses from scams reaching $1 trillion, it’s time to move beyond discussion and take action on multiple fronts.

Key Takeaways

• The Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) united players who are committed to taking action against scams
• Several collaborative initiatives were highlighted at GASS, including the Global Signal Exchange and the Mastercard-Feedzai partnership.
• Regulators are including industry players in shaping strategies and policy, a shift away from the traditional “top-down” approach to regulation
• A unified definition of scams remains elusive, making it harder to classify scams or measure the success of scam prevention measures

Cross-industry Collaboration Takes Shape

One word sums up how the initiatives present at GASS 2025 will shift into reality: collaboration.

Scammers don’t play by the rules and have zero regard for the damage they inflict on people’s lives using romance scams, pig butchering, or impersonation scams. As fraud and scam fighters, we need to be even more united and creative to beat them. Fighting scams at a cross-industry level is a team sport, and it requires players from all over the world to tackle scams together. 

In a hopeful sign, GASA’s impressive growth indicates that people are rising to the moment. GASA’s membership increased significantly in the past year, a sign that organizations are not just talking the talk about scams. They’re also walking the walk.

Key Initiatives Take Shape from GASS 2025

We’re already seeing several critical collaborative initiatives take concrete shape. 

GASA’s Global Signal Exchange

The expansion of GASA’s Global Signal Exchange (GSE) reflects a turning point in how organizations share information to combat scams. GSE launched three months earlier and has already more than tripled the number of data points it uses from 40 million to 135 million. 

The exchange initially focused on data such as IP addresses and URLs to track risky websites and plans to expand the types of data it collects. The information provided through GSE enables organizations to identify threats wherever they originate. 

This impressive growth demonstrates that GASA is fulfilling its promise to help organizations, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies crack down against scams. GSE is providing members with actionable intelligence to fight scams on a global level.

The Meta FIRE Initiative Catches On

Another collaborative effort highlighted at GASS was social media giant Meta’s Financial Industry Reporting Exchange (FIRE) initiative. Meta launched FIRE in October 2024, partnering with several UK banks to share information that uncovers scams lurking on its platforms.  

This type of partnership is essential in recognizing technology companies’ vital role in detecting and combatting scams. It combines Meta’s massive social media reach with banks’ deep experience with scams. The fusing of these insights can create a powerful defense mechanism. 

Feedzai-Mastercard Partner to Protect P2P Transactions

Feedzai is collaborating with Mastercard to keep peer-to-peer (P2P) payments safe from scams. Under the agreement, Mastercard will deploy its Consumer Fraud Risk (CFR) solution globally using Feedzia’s advanced AI-powered platform. 

This partnership addresses the growing problem of scams targeting P2P transactions. By combining Feedzai’s expertise in fraud prevention with Mastercard’s global network and insights, we aim to detect and prevent P2P scams in real time. This proactive approach helps protect consumers from financial losses and increases trust in digital payment systems.

Regulators Add New Seats to the Table

We’re also seeing a shift away from a “top-down” approach to regulations. Instead of bringing down sweeping regulations with new rules, regulators are demonstrating greater openness to consulting with industry players. 

This is a major milestone in how the anti-scam regulations are shaped. Banks, financial institutions, telcos, and social media companies can become equal partners in shaping new regulations. 

We’re already seeing banks in some markets proactively implement measures to protect customers from scams. For example, some banks have introduced a “confirmation of payee” system as an extra layer of security to help customers think before making a transfer. Meanwhile, Australia has introduced hefty fines of up to US$50 million per case for scam-related offenses.

Even in places without strict regulations, many organizations are voluntarily taking steps to protect consumers. Why? Because they understand it’s the right thing to do.

Wanted: Standardization of Scam Classification

Despite this progress, there is still a lack of consistency in classifying scams. Different regions have their own labeling methods, making it challenging to measure scams’ global impact accurately. The lack of uniformity also makes it hard to measure the effectiveness of different markets’ anti-scam measures. 

Improving Trust with Education

It’s also essential to strengthen consumers’ trust in the digital world. Education is key to this effort.

Scams can erode trust, making people wary of online interactions with digital channels like social media or chats. It’s essential to prioritize trust and safety and empower users to recognize and avoid scams on their own.

By improving customer education, we can create a more informed and resilient user base better equipped to navigate the digital landscape securely.

GASS 2025 made it crystal clear: the global community is done with just talking about scams—it’s time for coordinated action. The collaborative spirit and innovative solutions showcased at the summit provide a strong foundation for moving forward, but continued vigilance and cooperation will be crucial to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated scammers.

Additional Resources: 

• Blog: The Psychological Impact of Scams
• Report: Global State of Scams Report 2024
• eBook: How Banks Can Prevent Scams
• Solution: Scam Prevention Solution