Fifth Third Bancorp CEO, Tim Spence, recently wrote an op-ed in American Banker about the epidemic of consumer fraud and scam losses. The FTC Sentinel Report for 2024 showed $12.5 billion in scam losses. Mr. Spence said, “However, experts suggest this crisis may exceed $150 billion annually in the Americas alone.” The FTC has previously estimated consumer scam losses in the US for reported and unreported activity could be as high as $158 billion. So, Mr. Spence is correct—the numbers are very large.
Mr. Spence went on to explain: “Banks have made significant strides in protecting their customers, from deploying advanced fraud detection systems to educating consumers about common tactics. Many institutions have invested heavily in technologies, such as artificial intelligence tools, to monitor transactions and identify unusual activity.” But he said the fight against consumer fraud and scams must go beyond banks.
He is calling on the Federal government to lead the fight. Specifically, he is asking the administration “to establish a national fraud prevention task force, with a clear mandate to unify efforts across the federal government, work closely with the private sector, and implement a national strategy to combat fraud and scams.”
This is in line with the April 2025 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report that found despite multiple government agencies involved in scam support, there was no coordination between the agencies and no national strategy. According to the report, “The 13 federal agencies GAO spoke with engage in a range of efforts to counter scams. However, none were aware of a government-wide strategy to guide those efforts. Existing strategies did not focus on countering scams and did not apply across agencies.”
The American Banker editorial went on to explain how these scams are driven by transnational organized crime groups that “use stolen funds to fuel activities such as terrorist financing, human trafficking, drug smuggling and money laundering.” These organizations have massive scam compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Mexico, parts of Africa and the Middle East. The UN estimates there are several hundred thousand scammers (often victims themselves) in Southeast Asia alone.
Recommendations for a Federal task force to fight scams
Mr. Spence provided four recommendations for this proposed federal task force.
Recommendation #1: The task force must help coordinate government agencies and work with financial institutions, telecom providers and social media companies to revisit regulations that enable real-time information sharing and fraud prevention.
Real-time fraud and data sharing is so critical in the fight against scams. For the most part, banks are limited by FinCEN 314 (b) for sharing data. Lester Joseph, former head of the global financial crimes intelligence group at a large U.S. bank, said in an earlier blog: “ It is necessary for banks and law enforcement to find a better model of information sharing (than 314b) if we are to ever stand a chance of getting ahead of well-organized and versatile criminal organizations.” The US Treasury and FinCEN need to make it clear that financial institutions can share fraud and scam data outside 314(b) and with law enforcement, while still protecting customer information.
Recommendation #2: The task force should drive public awareness and education.
Recommendation #3: Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, along with prosecutors, should be directed to prioritize combating scams and fraud.
This will require additional funding for law enforcement and training on cryptocurrency, since much of the scam transaction funds move through cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto ATMs. Often, scam victims will go to their local police who have no training on cryptocurrency and fail to help with recovery. Erin West’s Operation Shamrock is an example of an effort trying to change this with training for law enforcement on consumer scams and cryptocurrency tracing.
Recommendation #4: The task force should prioritize solutions that address vulnerabilities across sectors while protecting consumer privacy.
Mr. Spence noted in the op-ed that banks “have made significant strides in protecting their customers” against fraud and scams. This is true, however, these efforts often go unspoken. I think there is a huge opportunity for US banks, credit unions and fintechs to step up, as Australian and UK financial institutions have done, and announce that they have written scam strategies that include specific controls around authorized transaction scams, special education for staff interacting with scam victims (such as the AARP training or Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) training), and money mule management controls (e.g. inbound transaction anomaly detection). The Australian Banking Association and the Customer Owned Banking Association announced in 2023 that every Australian bank will sign up for the Scam Safe Accord, which included having a written scam strategy along with a commitment to deploy selected scam controls.
Mules are fueling the scam economy
In the fight against consumer scams, banks, credit unions and fintechs need to take the lead and demonstrate in a tangible way they are fully committed. Especially, financial institutions need to have a serious program to identify and remove money mule accounts. BioCatch reported nearly two million mule accounts were flagged in 2024. Other recent research from Cube3’s CEO, Einaras Gravock, revealed large numbers of active money mule accounts in the US domiciled in large US banks as well as lesser known fintechs. This highlights the need to attack money mule accounts - the primary ‘fuel’ for fraud and scams.
Then, the next step is to get government, law enforcement, the telecom industry and the digital platforms to equally commit to eliminate consumer scams. This is what the Aspen Institute is currently working on with participants from all of these sectors. What American consumers need in 2025 is measurable commitment from these sectors.
Conclusion
Fifth Third’s CEO is right to call for stronger government coordination in the fight against fraud and scams. There should be a national fraud prevention task force, a person in the administration designated as the lead person, the creation of a national anti-fraud/scam center and active law enforcement involvement (with the funding to support this effort).
Financial institutions need to have written scam strategies and money mule management programs. Telcos need to do a better job of blocking scam text messages and calls. Digital platforms need to improve their screening of dating site users and remove scam advertisements and fraudulent investment websites.
All, or parts of this, already occurs in many other countries, including the UK, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore and the Philippines. The US must finally fight this scourge. Scammers consistently exploit the path of least resistance – and the US stands out as a prime target with relatively wealthy consumers and comparatively weaker protections.
Author’s Note: While I was writing this article, a friend called me to say one of his parents was in the middle of a $20,000 scam involving the relative being scammed into going to their bank branch and sending a wire to one of the fintechs included in the Cube3 data. It is happening everywhere.
