Tech
Tech Against Scams: Coinbase and Kraken Join Forces with Tech Giants to Fight Crypto and Romance Scams
Major cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken have joined forces with other major tech companies to form the “Tech Against Scams” coalition.
The alliance, which includes Meta, Match Group (parent company of Tinder and Hinge), Ripple and Gemini, aims to collaborate and take action against the methods used by scammers to protect customers from falling victim to various types of online fraud.
TLDR
- Coinbase, Kraken and other cryptocurrency companies have joined the “Tech Against Scams” coalition to combat online fraud and scams, including “pig slaughter” scams.
- The coalition includes prominent companies such as Meta, Match Group (parent company of Tinder and Hinge), Ripple and Gemini.
- The group aims to share best practices, threat intelligence, and tips to protect users from falling victim to romance scams and crypto scams.
- Losses from cryptocurrency investment scams in the United States reached $3.94 billion in 2023, and collaboration between technology companies is considered essential to prevent criminal activity.
- The coalition plans to educate users on the most common scam tactics, equip them with tools to protect themselves and collaborate with law enforcement when necessary.
The formation of the coalition comes at a time when losses from cryptocurrency investment scams in the United States alone have reached a staggering $3.94 billion in 2023, a significant increase from $2.57 billion the previous year, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report. ).
The increase in fraudulent activity has highlighted the urgent need for a concerted effort to directly address the problem.
One of the main goals of the “Tech Against Scams” coalition is to address the growing threat of “pig slaughter” scams.
These scams involve scammers contacting their victims via dating apps or social media, building trust and then launching a money-making opportunity involving cryptocurrency.
By sharing best practices, threat intelligence and tips, the coalition aims to make it more difficult for scammers to deceive users online and protect potential victims from harm.
Yoel Roth, Vice President Trust & Safety at Match Group, highlighted the importance of collaboration between sectors in preventing criminal activity.
He has declared,
“As we aim to make it more difficult for scammers to defraud users online, we will also continue to invest in features to help combat fraud and remove scammers from our platform before they commit harm.”
The coalition recognizes that scammers often target people across multiple internet services, making it difficult for individual companies to get a full picture of malicious activity.
Guy Rosen, Chief Security Officer at Meta, noted that companies need to band together to fully address the problem, as scammers often rely on each company working in isolation.
To protect users from fraud on their respective platforms, coalition members will share information and collaborate on how to educate and protect consumers from the ever-changing landscape of financial scams.
They will also continue to collaborate with law enforcement, when necessary, to support investigations by sharing information about online fraud and crimes occurring on their platforms.
The formation of the “Tech Against Scams” coalition is a significant step towards combating the growing wave of online fraud and scams.
Bringing together industry leaders from various sectors, including cryptocurrency, social media, finance and dating apps, the group aims to create a united front against bad actors seeking to exploit vulnerable individuals for profit.