Being the victim of a scam can be devastating. Unfortunately, the number of people who can attest to the truth of this statement, either because they themselves have been scammed or because it has happened to someone they know, is growing. The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) reports that in 2024 nearly 50% of the world’s consumers dealt with at least one attempted scam every week.1 Microsoft understands the importance of protecting against scams in all their forms. This understanding is the basis for multiple companywide projects, including the launch of the Secure Future Initiative (SFI) in November of 2023.
In February of 2024, Microsoft outlined its six-pillared comprehensive approach to addressing abusive AI-generated content. These pillars are:
- Strong safety architecture.
- Durable media provenance and watermarking.
- Safeguarding services from abusive content and conduct.
- Robust collaboration across industry, governments, and civil society.
- The push toward modernized legislation to protect people from the abuse of technology.
- Enhanced public awareness and education.
The foundation these pillars are built upon is responsibility. Microsoft leadership believes it is imperative for the tech sector to continually and proactively address fraud, scams, and security threats as they emerge. As part of that responsibility, Microsoft published a whitepaper in July 2024 and highlighted AI-generated fraud as one of the abuses United States policymakers should consider addressing with new legislation.
In accordance with this ethos and as the next step in its ongoing fight against scams around the world, Microsoft now announces that it will be joining GASA as a Foundation Member. In doing so, Microsoft readily grants its knowledge and expertise to an organization that has dedicated itself to protecting consumers everywhere from scams of all kinds. It is GASA’s mission to unite public authorities, industry leaders, and technology platforms in sharing knowledge, defining joint strategies, and coordinating effective actions that shield consumers from scams. In 2024 alone, scammers drained the global economy of more than $1.03 trillion.2 Together, Microsoft and the other members of GASA hope to stem these losses going forward.
Doubling down on fraud prevention through the Global Signal Exchange
As well as joining GASA as a Foundation Member, Microsoft also announces it is joining the Global Signal Exchange (GSE), the world’s first clearing house for scam and fraud threat signals. The GSE enables member organizations to collaborate in order to tackle online scams, fraud, and abuse—with more than 191 million threat signals being monitored in real time. The GSE is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organization owned by Oxford Information Labs (OXIL) and was launched in partnership with GASA. Microsoft is one of the first 20 leading international organizations that has joined in recent months.
“We are delighted to welcome Microsoft to the Global Signal Exchange. Fighting scams is a collaborative effort. Together we are changing the game, by putting a spotlight on where scams are happening online, in real time, and by sharing information about online scams and fraud across the internet ecosystem. We aim to help stop malicious activities faster, make them less effective and so less profitable for the criminals. To this end, The Global Signal Exchange empowers us all to share a vision for data sharing based on a global, multistakeholder, multisector platform.”
—Emily Taylor, Founder, Global Signal Exchange
The Global Signal Exchange platform surfaces malicious URLs, suspect IP addresses, scams, and phishing attacks. With the new data being shared by Microsoft, the organization’s mandate will steadily continue to broaden in order to cover more threats and threat actors. Together, Microsoft and the rest of the organizations participating in the GSE will work to shine a light not just on cybercrime but upon those individuals and groups facilitating it as well.
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1International Scammers Steal Over $1 Trillion in 12 Months in Global State of Scams Report 2024, GASA. November 7, 2024.