Scam Solutions: A Plan to Stop America’s Scam Epidemic
A former CIA analyst, Ken Westbrook shares his insight into what the U.S. needs to do to fight the scam epidemic.
Episode 43: As a former career intelligence officer, Westbrook isn’t new to the world of transnational organized crime. But it was his mother getting scammed three years ago that brought him to found the Stop Scams Alliance.
His mother was working on her computer when she clicked on a Google search result that turned out to be a malicious website. A pop-up window appeared that said her computer had a problem. It provided her with a toll-free number to call for help and instructed her not to turn off her computer. Once she called the number, the scammers took over.
It affects both young and old. It affects the educated and the non-educated. Anybody is a potential scam victim.— Ken Westbrook
A Threat to National Security
Criminals are using scam proceeds to support drug cartels, human trafficking, and terrorism. Westbrook began looking into the government’s efforts to address the problem. He learned that scams like these were a relatively new phenomenon. The government didn’t really have a plan to fight back or measure the scale of what was happening. Individual agencies are collecting reporting data, but that doesn’t provide a full picture.
Money stolen from Americans’ pockets is flowing overseas to fuel more organized crime. —Ken Westbrook
The Stop Scams Alliance engaged with Gallup to survey a broader demographic. The next version of the survey will be released in May.
When Gallup did a survey in 2023, 8% of Americans said they’d been scammed in the last year. If you do the math, that’s 21 million people, which is about the population of Florida.
Gallup found that people under age 50 were being scammed at twice the rate as people over 50.
Last year, 46 major companies — including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and JP Morgan — signed an open letter to Congress from the Aspen Institute that referred to scams as a fast-evolving national security threat. The letter calls for the public and private sectors to collaborate more to suppress and prevent scams.
What Should the Government Do to Fight Scams?
Westbrook has ideas.
Identify the real scale of the scam problem. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov) and the Federal Trade Commission both collect consumer scam reports. However, the data represents only the people who choose to self-report scams. Many people don’t. They’re embarrassed, afraid, or don’t believe there’s any value to making the reports, and the government won’t take action.
Create a coordinating function in the White House. About 13 agencies have some jurisdiction over scams. “When you have 13 cooks in the kitchen, nobody’s in charge,” Westbrook says. In December, H.R. 6681, the “National Scam Prevention Coordination Act,” was introduced to create a Directorship and office to focus on scam and fraud prevention policy. It’s a start. But it doesn’t take an act of Congress; it could happen much faster with an executive order.
Establish a data fusion center. Using a model similar to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the center would develop a clearer picture of the threat and serve as a hub for data collection, law enforcement training, and public education. When Australia established its national anti-scam center, scam rates began to decline within a year.
Allow the private sector to share scam information. Under current regulations, most private-sector organizations fear being sued for sharing data. But a bank or telecom company asked a customer who had lost a lot of money in a scam whether they’d allow information to be shared with the various agencies, Westbrook says, “I’ll bet you 99.9% of people would check that box.”
Simplify reporting. It’s not just that the FBI and FTC have separate reporting systems; the FTC actually has two. And you’re not likely to hear back from either agency. There are models in other countries. For instance, the UK has Report Fraud, an official service for reporting cybercrime and fraud. In addition to reporting, the site provides educational and support resources.
Improve consumer awareness. Consumer education focuses a lot on authentication and passwords, which is good, but not helpful when it comes to cyber scams. We need more education on how to recognize scams and respond to them.
Make it harder for scammers. Telecom companies can address caller ID systems that allow scammers to appear as if they’re calling from a local number rather than from another country. Google regulates financial ad placement in 17 countries, requiring that companies must be authenticated and regulated to place ads. Meta does it for four countries. The U.S. hasn’t taken the same action.
Transnational organized crime gangs are exploiting vulnerabilities in our telecommunications systems and our internet. — Ken Westbrook
Who Is Ken Westbrook?
Ken Westbrook, founder and CEO of the Stop Scams Alliance, is a Distinguished Fellow at the Wilson Center and a leading voice in combating cybercrime that targets Americans. He served as an executive in the Intelligence Community, protecting U.S. national security by leading strategic threat analysis, digital transformation, and information sharing initiatives. He subsequently held senior positions with two Fortune 500 software firms, co-invented a patented security technology, and created and taught a course in Information Management at Georgetown University.
Episode Chapters
00:00 — Introduction
02:44 — Understanding the Mechanics of Scams
06:05 — Measuring the Scale of the Scam Problem
11:41 — National Security Implications of Scams
14:48 — Proposed Solutions to Combat Scams
26:36 — Data Collection and Legislative Needs
29:47 — Privacy Concerns and Reporting Challenges
32:46 — Improving Reporting Systems
35:42 — Congressional Education on Scams
38:42 — Global Perspectives on Scam Prevention
44:31 — AI as a Defensive Tool Against Scams
Useful Links
“Scams: Relatively Common and Anxiety-Inducing for Americans”
Gallup’s 2023 Survey Results
“Cyber-Enabled Financial Crime is Surging: How to Fight Back,”
Ken Westbrook and David P. Mansdoerfer, The Cipher Brief, February 2020
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BioCatch prevents financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate.
Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam and IDeveryone, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.
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