Fraud losses are surging across the globe, and information sharing between institutions can mitigate this activity. The Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing (FFIS) research programme is working with Nasdaq Verafin to unlock the power of cross-sector and cross-border information sharing to uncover fraud risk.
At the GASA 2026 Global Anti-Scam Summit in Europe, FFIS launched its survey findings, A survey of collaborative analytics platforms to tackle fraud: Towards a network of networks in partners, the largest study of its kind.
Sponsored by Nasdaq Verafin, the survey findings share a range of examples of industry innovation and policy reform in different parts of the world, and how institutions are responding to fraud and scam threats in distinct ways.
Key challenges revealed by the survey include the increased speed and diversity of domestic and cross-border payments, and the lack of cross-border and cross-sector fraud risk information sharing.
When it comes to cross-sector cooperation, we need to look across the full ‘fraud attack chain’ and across business sectors to mitigate threats.
Fraud Spans Sectors, But Defences Remain Fragmented
In general, when scammers are first preparing an attack and engaging potential victims, they are abusing technology and social media platforms and telecommunication-based contact. Companies in these industries have some visibility over the ‘upstream’ elements of fraud, including investment scam advertising for example.
When funds are stolen from victims, then the activity is more visible ‘downstream’ in financial and payment sectors.
Often, financial and payment institutions are the first to receive reports of fraud and scams from a victim and, accordingly, this stage is where there can be confirmation that a fraud has taken place.
Sharing risk signals between upstream and downstream sectors can mitigate or prevent many of these events, but this can be challenging.
Currently, there are uneven legal liabilities across these sectors in the fraud attack chain and differences between countries in how they regulate in response to scam threats. Overall, the right incentives are not in place to encourage information sharing and help both downstream and upstream stakeholders collaborate to detect and prevent scam attacks.
Closing Gaps in the Information-Sharing Ecosystem
At FFIS, we believe policymakers should enable information sharing initiatives across the full range of business sectors targeted in the fraud attack chain. If a business sector is being used to facilitate fraud attacks, then those businesses share the responsibility to help detect and mitigate those threats to the citizens and businesses using their services.
The importance of this agenda will only grow with the further development of AI. AI can enhance the velocity, volume and effectiveness of fraud attacks, but — conversely, and crucially — AI can also support the response to fraud threats. However, AI model development firms are not currently members of any fraud-risk information sharing platforms surveyed in this report.
This report is an urgent signal for the technology, social media and AI sector to become more deeply engaged in cross-sector information sharing to respond to fraud threats.
Cross-Border Fraud Demands Cross-Border Intelligence
Our report highlights that almost all of the surveyed platforms perceive cross-border fraud-risk information sharing as ‘very important or essential’ to tackle fraud and scam threats (91%), however the extent of cross-border fraud-risk information sharing is low. Most commonly, surveyed fraud-risk platforms report ‘no significant international cooperation or data sharing with foreign anti-scam or anti-fraud platforms.’
As information-sharing platforms develop around the world, we are facing the challenge that these centres of insight into fraud risk may develop in silos and be disconnected from one another, undermining the opportunity to discover and address cross-border threats.
The survey responses offer insight into the main obstacles for cross-border information sharing, including:
- Legal: The lack of explicit gateways or guidance creates uncertainty about how personal data can be lawfully shared across borders.
- Operational: Jurisdictions often use different fraud taxonomies and data formats, creating friction and interoperability challenges.
- Political: As recognised at the Global Fraud Summit, there is currently no international body overseeing global efforts (public and private) against fraud or driving the required standards to enhance cross-border cooperation.
Policy-makers have an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of the cross-border, cross-payment domain and cross-sector information sharing in a manner that is proportionate and subject to appropriate data governance and accountability requirements.
Toward a Global Framework for Fraud Intelligence Sharing
The Financial Action Task Force, the international standard setter for anti-money laundering regulation, has a key role driving the global policy response to fraud, adjusting its approach and toolkit to take account of specific opportunities and challenges raised by the fraud threat, with consideration to the latest in national practices.
Advances in recent decades in the cyber-security community, where a common taxonomy for threats and a clear basis in international law for sharing risk information has been developed, should be instructive for how intelligence and fraud-risk signals are shared to support the integrity of cross-border payments.
Multilateral efforts should be supplemented by bilateral engagement between jurisdictions to develop innovation corridors that can then be expanded and replicated if successful.
From Insight to Action: Building Connected Defences
The FFIS survey provides a baseline for understanding current practices in fraud-risk information sharing and can support international efforts to build connections between anti-scam networks.
Leadership and technology are key to addressing these challenges. If we fail to act and cooperate, this challenge will only get harder to solve. Now is the time to cooperate in response to shared risks, across border and across sectors, to the benefit of all those who take part.
Visit us for access to the full comparative study, and what it means for information sharing to address fraud.
About the Author
Nick J. Maxwell
Head of the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing (FFIS) Research Programme
Nick J. Maxwell is the Head of the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing (FFIS) research programme, within the RUSI Centre for Finance and Security. The FFIS research programme focuses on international comparative analysis of public-private and private-to-private information sharing to tackle economic crime. Research publications are available at www.future-fis.com.
Prior to this role, Nick led the Research and Advocacy team at Transparency International UK and was appointed to lead Transparency International’s global preparations for the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016. Before being involved in civil society research, Nick was a Liaison Officer providing anti-money laundering specialist advice to a UK taskforce in Afghanistan. Nick’s early career included managing the International Economics Programme at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) and leading the public policy function at the ICAEW.
