In his opening remarks for the American Bankers Association Washington Summit today, President and CEO Rob Nichols renewed the association’s call for a “coordinated, whole-of-government approach” to the “insidious threat” of fraud. Specifically, Nichols urged Congress and the Trump administration to establish a national office to support scam and fraud prevention as part of a “national strategy to reduce the number of Americans who fall victim to these scams.”
Nichols also called for greater cooperation by those in the private sector, in particular tech and telecom companies. “They need to stop scammers from reaching vulnerable consumers through fake social media profiles, spam calls, text messages and emails,” Nichols said. “Right now, it’s still too easy for the bad guys to spoof a bank name on a caller ID, email or text.”
Meanwhile, banks and ABA continue to deploy technology, personnel and new tools to detect and prevent fraud and protect consumers, Nichols said — specifically flagging ABA’s expanded Fraud Contact Directory and award-winning consumer education campaigns like #BanksNeverAskThat, Practice Safe Checks and Safe Banking for Seniors.
