US-based multinational technology corporation Meta has expanded its information-sharing partnership with banks across the UK to safeguard individuals against fraud and scams. Through the Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) programme, banks are set to be able to directly share intelligence with Meta so that the company can leverage it to combat fraudulent activities and protect users.

At the time of the announcement, NatWest and Metro Bank were among the first financial institutions in the UK to participate in this pilot, with more banks scheduled to join in the upcoming period. When commenting on the announcement, representatives from Meta underlined that their company has been focusing its efforts on taking action against accounts run by scammers, with its measures underlining the importance of banks and platforms collaborating to mitigate this societal issue. In addition, Meta mentioned that to eliminate these concerns, financial institutions, together with other platforms, need to share relevant information related to scams. Also, banks can provide unique details to Meta so that the firm can in turn leverage them to train its systems to take action against more scams globally.

Meta’s efforts towards minimising fraud in the UK As per the information detailed in the official press release, the expansion of the pilot for the Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange programme has been welcomed by participants in the banking industry, as well as the City of London Police and the National Economic Crime Centre, among others. Meta also underlined that the initial pilot of the programme allowed the takedown of a concert ticket scam network working towards targeting individuals across the UK and the US. By sharing data between NatWest, Metro Bank, and Meta during the six-month pilot, supported by the cross-collaborative umbrella of Stop Scams UK, the organisations were able to eliminate 20,000 accounts run by scammers from the 185 URLs shared.

In addition to assisting individuals, the company was able to solidify its fraud detection capabilities. Moreover, Meta underscored that the initial pilot stage of the programme saw positive feedback, with the company now planning to onboard more banks over the upcoming months as it continues to test and learn. Officials from the City of London Police stated that, as mitigating online fraud is critical for the tech industry, this expansion between UK-based organisations and Meta works towards scaling the latter's ability to act upon harmful content and to assist the wider fight against fraud via the sharing of the intelligence and insight that disrupt criminals, design out fraud, and protect victims. Source: Link .