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Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Meta to work with Singapore banks in sharing intelligence to combat scams
Participants taking part in an interactive workshop session during Meta's Inside a Scammer's Mind event at Marina One on June 12. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI Meta to work with Singapore banks in sharing intelligence to combat scams SINGAPORE – Social media company Meta is aiming to roll out a shared intelligence platform with local banks in Singapore to combat the scam scourge. This comes as the company looks to form a closer partnership with the Republic's law enforcement agencies to dismantle scam syndicates. First unveiled in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2024, Meta's Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (Fire) is a platform that allows banks to share threat intelligence with the firm directly. Speaking to the media on June 12, Meta's Singapore and Asean head of public policy Clara Koh said the firm is ready to roll out the programme globally through an industry consortium – the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Centre . She said that currently, Meta's customers who become victims of scams on its platforms have to report their experience to the firm. With Fire, Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – will also be able to receive intelligence on scammers or victims from banks. Ms Koh said the platform allows Meta to analyse data and remove the scammers' ability to commit crimes. 'But at the same time, we use the signals and patterns or behaviours of the actors to help our machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) actually better detect the bad actors. 'So yes, we are working with a few local banks to try and get them onboarded into the programme,' she added. She said more details will be shared at a later date. During a six-month pilot with UK banks NatWest and Metro Bank, Meta was able to remove some 20,000 accounts run by scammers from 185 website addresses shared by the banks. Ms Koh was one of the panellists at an anti-scam awareness event organised by Meta on June 12 at the firm's office at Marina One. The panel also included the Singapore Police Force's Superintendent Rosie Ann McIntyre, who is assistant director of the Scam Public Education Office's operations department, and the National Crime Prevention Council's Mr Nicholas Khoo. (From left) The National Crime Prevention Council's Mr Nicholas Khoo, police Superintendent Rosie Ann McIntyre and Meta's Singapore and Asean head of policy Clara Koh at the Inside a Scammer's Mind event on June 12. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI During the discussion, Supt McIntyre said that people should not be fearful if an unknown person is attempting to call or reach them through e-mail. Instead, it is important to slow down and assess the situation. 'The important thing is not to respond immediately, not to transfer money, because once it's out, it's out. The important thing is not to click a link,' said Supt McIntyre. In 2024, victims in Singapore lost a record high of $1.1 billion to scams. In total, victims here have lost more than $3.4 billion to scams since 2019. The most common ruse in 2024 was e-commerce scams, which includes concert ticket scams, with 11,665 reported cases and victims losing at least $17.5 million in total. Job scams and phishing scams rounded out the top three scam variants of concern in 2024. Some $156.2 million was lost to job scams, while victims of phishing scams lost $59.4 million across 2024. Ms Koh said that some scams – such as ticketing scams linked to big events like mega concerts or summits – can be anticipated, which means the authorities can prepare against a spike in fraud attempts ahead of time. During a six-month pilot with UK banks NatWest and Metro Bank, Meta was able to remove some 20,000 accounts run by scammers from 185 website addresses shared by the banks. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI But others are difficult to predict. Most scams, like love scams or impersonation scams, are evergreen, which make it challenging to get ahead of, Ms Koh said. 'You don't know how (scams) are going to evolve over time, but they evolve extremely quickly within days. Once you try and arrest a particular variant, it pivots and evolves i nto something else,' she added. She said Meta is also committed to fighting the scam scourge beyond just its online platforms – highlighting the human trafficking cost that comes with scam compounds run by organised crime. 'As a platform, we want to do our best to tackle the issue as it manifests... but I think equally, we also want to take real-world action on the actual criminal syndicates that are operating these (compounds),' she said. 'So we can do our part but, at the same time, we really need different segments of the ecosystem and society to work with us on the same side to really fight this scourge.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Associated Press
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Federal Funding Soft On Crime
Washington, D.C., March 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This statement can be attributed to Paul DelPonte, Executive Director at the National Crime Prevention Council 'In terms of keeping America safe, this Continuing Resolution fails to Take A Bite Out Of Crime®. Gutting important programs that provide assistance to law enforcement in supporting the communities they serve and protect is not the right step. It slashes funding for rape kits in hospitals and community support programs that keep kids off the street at night. Additionally, it allocates $0 for public education on the dangers of fentanyl. Even within this current year, both the administration and Congress can take steps to fill in these holes.'
Associated Press
22-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
The Cost of Neglecting Digital Brand Protection
02/21/2025, London, GB // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // A company can have multiple assets: from large facilities and vehicles to unique designs, ideas, and solutions. But, perhaps, the top asset of them all is your brand — something that people will discover, appreciate and stick to for years to come. So, protecting your brand is the top priority. Otherwise, there definitely is going to be someone copying your aesthetics, name, product/service packages, website address, or do other types of harmful corporate mimicry. We'll explain what types of brand abuse there are and what to do to avoid them. 1. Blatant fakery The market of counterfeit goods is worth $2 trillion according to the National Crime Prevention Council. This is the most popular type of brand abuse: there are even YouTube tutorials that tell how to make money from selling fake Beats by Dre or Jordans. 2. Scamy websites Scam websites are another prevalent method of mooching off of legitimate companies. Typically they imitate your brand to: Sell cheap counterfeit. Perform phishing attacks. Collect money and provide nothing in return. There are four main types of this fraud: Fake shop It looks exactly like yours and even has your logo hammered to its frontpage. Plus their prices are much lower than yours or than the market average. In reality, they sell terribly made stuff or simply collect payments and disappear. Phishing platforms These also artfully mimic a real company's website only to collect people's sensitive data: names, addresses, credit card details, etc. Typosquatting According to Antispoofing Wiki, typosquatting is a malicious practice of disguising decoy web-addresses as legit ones. They do so by registering misspellings/variations or hyphenated URLs of the original domain. is a bright example: it targeted PayPal and hijacked some unwatchful people's credentials. Cybersquatting Wherever a company's right for a domain name expires, it can be quickly intercepted by someone else. Alternatively, cybersquatters can occupy domain names to either create a phishing website or sell them to the brand owner at a gargantuan price. A similar case was observed in India, when the dairy company Amul got targeted by the squatters, who used its name in a number of fake domains. 3. Patent infringement Patent infringement refers to copying, distributing, and profiteering from the patent without the holder's consent. And this story is as old as the hills: Albrecht Dürer's patented know-hows were violated 500 years ago by Marcantonio Raimondi. Today it happens even more often. For example Finnish Nokia and China's fifth in popularity phonemaker Oppo have reconciled only recently over the 5G patent disputes. In a company's case a patent can be anything: from a unique almond dough recipe for macaroons to a breakthrough algorithm for backing up data. As long as it's generating revenue, it's a legitimate target for the 'patent sharks'. 4. Honorable mention: Dupes You know a situation when you see a bottle for your favorite soda from a distance, come closer to grab it and then realise… it's a knockoff pretending to be some classic beverage. This phenomenon is known as 'dupe': a deliberate copying of aesthetics, packaging, logo, and other pivotal nuances pertaining to another popular brand. Sadly, duping isn't illegal per se: you can find at least 20 known clones of Coca-Cola sold worldwide. But there are still some ways to fend off the pesky dupes: hosting trade-ins, promoting brand education through social media outlets, performing second-hand resales, and so on. The potential damages Now let's see what the neglected brand protection can entail. 1. Lost profit When a buyer can find a cheap knockoff with your name (or at least a scarily similar logo), they will prefer it over the pricier original in most cases. 2. Damaged reputation Even if you have nothing to do with scamming and phishing, the fact that someone pretended to be you will still leave a bitter aftertaste. Besides, most people really don't like figuring out who is actually to blame and charge at Yelp to spam negative comments. 3. Unnecessary costs Whenever a problem appears — loss of consumer trust or legal violation — a company has to pour in extra finances in litigation or damage control. As a result, the company's profit margin can face a significant shrinkage. So, what to do? Good preparation is half the battle won. And with perfect preparation you may see no battles at all. So, you need to follow these steps to avoid potential brand abuse: 1. Protect the copyright This implies that everything related to intellectual property — product and company names, logos, advertising content — is duly protected with the copyright. In case you have none, your intellectual property will become an easy prey — in the worst scenario, an unscrupulous competitor can steal the intellectual property and have it copyrighted to their name. So, if it happens, according to the letter of the law, it's you who will be the perpetrator. 2. Leave the cybersquatters no chance It can be pricey and tedious, but you still need to claim as many domains featuring your brand name as possible (apart from your main domain). The same strategy applies to social media: register accounts and channels before your company gets enough exposure online. 3. Set a bounty fee In case your company is sought after, you can decrease multiple threats with a simple trick. Invite your clientele, as well as random people, to report all cases of mimicry, counterfeit sales, or scam to you, so you can take further action. This is how Paypal and many other companies tackle fraud. As a reward you can offer discounts, free trials, and other incentives. 4. Optimize the search engine results Rivals can use keywords — including your brand name — to attract customers, while parasitizing on your reputation. If such a company has been detected, you can report them to Google and they will lose their 'toppermost' position in the search results. Another good idea is to invest in search engine optimization (SEO) and bid on your brand's name. This will allow your company to appear on the front page of the relevant search results and prevent customer stealing. Protect the Important
