The $1 trillion war against scams: a global issue, voice & SMS key
We must respond to the surge in unwanted and illegal communications, including spam and robocalls, that erodes public trust in communications.
A New Direction
National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) are compelled to impose new requirements, both domestically and in the international communications industry, but uncoordinated approaches leave gaps for malicious actors to exploit. Regulatory authorities must align to introduce diverse and consistent requirements, which the International Communications Industry needs to meet.
Key issues to address include:
- High costs and complexities due to disjointed requirements
- Regulatory authorities addressing symptoms rather than root causes, leading to inefficiencies
- Current methods creating confusion and delaying effective solutions
- Addressing these challenges demands a collective effort, with the industry and NRAs collaborating. i3Forum is launching the “One Consortium” under the “Restore Trust in International Communications” umbrella.
- scams deeply impact the global economy – up to 4% of the GDP in some countries
- Scammers operate as of organized crime, acting from anywhere to anywhere, and go free. They operate globally, when we (telecom service providers, banks, law enforcement…) operate mostly locally, in multiple jurisdictions and frameworks
- beyond remarkable national initiatives and regional cooperation, the telecoms ecosystem can / must contribute to global alignment and cooperation, prevention, traceability, and information sharing – working with all other stakeholders
64% of scams involve voice calls or SMS (GASA)
Only 13% of victims get all or most of the money back(GASA)
Only 0.05% of all cybercriminals are prosecuted (WEF)
75% report same level of scams attemps or more vs 2023
50% targeted by scam attempt once a week or more frequently
Who’s really calling Bob?
