Mastercard transforms the fight against scams with latest AI tech

Now more than ever, scammers are taking advantage of the latest technologies like AI to deceive people. According to the FBI, across the United States people lost $12.5 billion to internet scams in 2023 alone. In the UK, fraudsters were responsible for nearly 1.4 million thefts during the first half of 2023 – the equivalent of one every 12 seconds.

To combat the growing threat of scams, Mastercard today announced Scam Protect, a suite of specialized solutions powered by cutting-edge AI technologies, which help identify and prevent scams. Mastercard is also partnering with organizations across the ecosystem to fight scams.

“Scammers are exploiting new technologies, making their deception and impersonation scams increasingly difficult for consumers to recognize,” said Chris Reid, EVP of Identity Solutions, Mastercard. “Building on our innovations in AI and key partnerships, we are supporting financial institutions with insights to better detect and prevent scams, while helping consumers learn how to spot them. This holistic approach means more people will be protected, fostering trust in our digital world.”

AI-POWERED IDENTITY SOLUTIONS

By combining its identity, biometric, AI and open banking capabilities, Mastercard can help protect consumers across the spectrum of scams, from card-based and account-to-account payments to fraudulent account openings.

Mastercard Identity assists in verifying that someone is who they say they are throughout the lifecycle of an account. This is critical because scammers open or take over accounts to fraudulently apply for credit, create so-called “mule” bank accounts to receive stolen funds, or to impersonate someone using a false identity.
From the moment an account-to-account or card-based payment is initiated, Mastercard’s behavioral biometrics can access physical interactions across devices to identify any unusual behavior, such as hesitating while typing or interacting with the website or app.
Specific to real-time account-to-account payments, Mastercard’s Consumer Fraud Risk solution provides banks with the intelligence to help detect and prevent payments to scammers. Now live in the UK with 10 large banks, Consumer Fraud Risk leverages AI and Mastercard’s unique view of account-to-account transactions, to help banks intervene in real time and stop a payment to a scammer before funds are sent.
When a consumer initiates an account-based payment from their bank account, Mastercard enables account validation to confirm account ownership and validate identity details in real-time through Mastercard Open Banking, which draws on the safe exchange of consumer-permissioned data to facilitate frictionless and secure payments.

INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

Mastercard is also collaborating with organizations across the ecosystem to tackle scams, mitigate their impact, and educate consumers.

Telecommunications

Mastercard is partnering with Verizon to address the growing threat of scams. Today, Verizon’s robust network capabilities deliver advanced data analytics and insights, and produces authoritative research reports such as the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) used by enterprises to understand and help mitigate emerging cybersecurity threats. Through its Call Filter product, Verizon also has protected over 80 million consumers from over 20 billion unwanted SPAM and scam calls.

Mastercard and Verizon are building on their long-standing partnership. They will collaborate on new solutions to protect consumers from scams across multichannel attack vectors. By combining Mastercard’s identity insights with Verizon’s robust network technologies, new advanced tools can be designed to more accurately block scammers.

“The security landscape is constantly evolving, as are scammers’ techniques, but one constant has been social engineering—using texts and phone calls to coerce people,” said Kyle Malady, CEO, Verizon Business. “Verizon and Mastercard share a commitment to helping protect consumers from security threats. By combining our expertise, we’re building solutions to identify and thwart scammers before they initiate contact.”

Financial Institutions

Banks in the UK, including NatWest, are the first around the world to utilize Mastercard’s AI-powered Consumer Fraud Risk solution to identify and prevent in real-time money being sent to scammers, while giving their customers peace of mind.

“Impersonation scams, which coerce people into sending money in good faith or paying for goods they think are genuine, require no security breach or hack. They just need to trick their victim,” said Nick Elliot, Head of Payment Fraud, NatWest. “As the sophistication of scams has progressed, so has our real-time monitoring and prevention of fraud. Together with Mastercard, we are using the power of AI to identify payments to fraudsters and stop them before money is lost. In combination with our programme of consumer education and guidance on precautions, we are enhancing the safeguards for all our customers.”

After launching in 2023, early indications of Consumer Fraud Risk’s impact are very promising. Last year, TSB estimated the amount of scam payments prevented in the UK over a year would equate to almost £100m should other banks mirror its performance.

Mastercard is also partnering with Entersekt, a global financial authentication company that is using Mastercard Identity to help financial institutions fight scams. Using Mastercard’s behavioral biometrics, Entersekt enables banks to “step up” higher-risk transactions, verifying a sender’s biometrics to authenticate the transaction. This extra step can protect senders before the funds leave their account.