Coinbase and other leading companies in the tech industry have formed a coalition called Tech Against Scams to combat the growing threat of online fraud. The initiative aims to bring together technology firms to share best practices and intelligence in order to protect consumers from evolving scams.
In a recent development, Ripple, a blockchain startup, has joined forces with Coinbase, Meta, Gemini, and Kraken to fight online fraud and other illicit financial schemes. Coinbase, in collaboration with various crypto and technology firms, including the Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, took the lead in establishing the Tech Against Scams coalition.
Tech Against Scams serves as a central hub for participating technology companies to collaborate in their efforts to combat the tools used by scammers. This platform will also educate and safeguard consumers from evolving financial scams.
The coalition will facilitate the sharing of best practices, threat intelligence, and other valuable insights to proactively protect users from falling victim to various online fraud schemes, including romance scams and crypto-related fraud like ‘pig butchering’.
Since last summer, Match Group, Coinbase, and Meta have formed an unprecedented partnership in the tech sector to tackle cross-platform threats like ‘pig butchering’. Recognizing the opportunity to enhance their efforts against these crimes, they have expanded their collaboration to include more companies.
This cross-industry alliance now includes online, social media, and cryptocurrency firms, leveraging their respective strengths to identify emerging adversarial trends, exchange best practices, combat global scams, and collectively protect users.
Addressing the rising trend of online scams, the FBI’s Internet crime report for 2023 revealed that the American public reported losses of over $12.5 billion due to online fraud incidents. Approximately $3.94 billion of these losses were linked to cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The Ripple-led coalition and other participants will act as a force multiplier for security teams within tech companies by facilitating the exchange of threat insights and trends. The goal of this collaboration is to enhance the effectiveness of disrupting scam networks on a global scale. Devraj Varadhan, EVP of Engineering at Ripple, emphasized the need to fight back against scammers and educate individuals on how to protect themselves from these predators.
The tech industry is united in its determination to dismantle scammers once and for all. Ripple’s involvement in this coalition, along with other industry heavyweights, is a proud moment for all involved.