United States of Scams Event Highlights: Why the Fight Against Fraud Starts with Trust

At a recent Gallup event hosted with Stop Scams Alliance, one message came through clearly: scams are not just a financial crime problem. They are a trust problem.

The event marked the launch of a new consumer-based research study from Gallup and Stop Scams Alliance, supported by Somos and other cross-industry partners. While the research helps define the scale of scams in the U.S., the event focused on what comes next: how policymakers, telecom providers, financial institutions, technology platforms and consumer advocates can work together to better protect people.

Scams Are About People

Ken Westbrook, Founder and CEO of Stop Scams Alliance, opened the program by sharing the story of his mother, who was scammed while searching online for her sister’s obituary. “Scams are about victims, not numbers”, Westbrook said, referring to the statistics behind the study.

That idea shaped the following conversations. Speakers included Justin Lall of Gallup, U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Jefferson Shreve, Ayelet Biger-Levin of RangersAI, Raúl Burgos of Meta, Darius Kingsley of JPMorgan Chase and Jaime Zetterstrom of Somos. Together, they discussed the financial impact of scams, but also the emotional toll: shame, anxiety, lost confidence and the lasting effect on families. The event made clear that scams can happen to anyone and the harm often continues long after the money is gone.

What the Event Made Clear

Several themes stood out:

• Scams are underreported because many victims do not know where to turn or do not believe reporting will help.

• Scammers move across channels, often starting on one platform, shifting to a call or text and ending with a payment.

• Consumer trust is eroding across communications, banking, social media and digital interactions.

• The best opportunity to stop scams is earlier in the journey, before money moves.

Justin Lall, Principal at Gallup, underscored the importance of better data. “When we make policy, when we make strategy, when we make decisions based on incomplete data, the resulting policy, strategies and decisions are not reflective of the entire real experience of the American public,” Justin said.

A Trust Problem Across Every Channel

Ayelet Biger-Levin, Founder and CEO of RangersAI, who moderated the industry panel, noted that the report “doesn't just measure fraud losses. It measures how trust has really eroded across every channel.”

That challenge sits at the center of Somos’ work. As scammers continue to exploit phone calls, texts and other communications channels, trusted identity has become a critical part of consumer protection. Jaime Zetterstrom, Vice President of Product and Innovation at Somos, brought that perspective to the panel, emphasizing the role telecommunications can play in helping consumers recognize legitimate communications and avoid harmful ones.

Stopping Scams Earlier

A recurring theme throughout the panel was the need to stop scams before a victim sends money.

Darius Kingsley, Head of Consumer Fraud and Scam Prevention at JPMorganChase, explained that financial institutions often enter the scam journey late, after a scammer has already built trust and created urgency. “Our golden zone is if we can figure out how to stop the scam before the customer tries to make a financial transaction,” Darius said.

If scams often begin with a call, text or other outreach, trusted communications are a vital part of prevention.

Building Trusted Communications

The telecommunications ecosystem is complex. Calls, SMS, RCS, short codes and other channels each work differently. Scammers exploit that complexity by impersonating trusted organizations, spoofing phone numbers and moving across channels to avoid detection.

Jaime Zetterstrom described the need for stronger trust frameworks across communications. “How do you build a framework that allows only trusted, verified communications to take place?” she asked.

For telecom, that means helping:

• Authenticate legitimate communications

• Reduce spoofing and misuse of phone numbers

• Support better information sharing across trusted parties

• Interrupt scams before they reach the point of payment

Collaboration Is the Only Way Forward

Panelists agreed that no one organization can solve scams alone.

Raúl Burgos, Security Policy Manager at Meta, described how scammers exploit industry silos by moving across platforms and channels. “No one sector, no one entity can solve this alone,” Raul said.

Speakers discussed the need for better information sharing between financial institutions, technology platforms, telecom providers, government agencies and law enforcement. Those efforts must balance speed, usefulness and privacy, but stronger collaboration is essential to identify patterns faster and disrupt scammers sooner.

Turning Research into Action

The event did not present scam prevention as a simple problem with a single solution. As Jaime said, “There is no silver bullet.”

Instead, the conversation pointed to a practical path forward:

• Clearer reporting

• Stronger authentication

• Faster scam signal detection

• Continued policy support

• Deeper public-private collaboration

The Gallup and Stop Scams Alliance research provides an important foundation. But as the event made clear, data is only the beginning.

Protecting consumers requires telecom, technology, financial services, government, law enforcement and consumer advocates to work together to build stronger defenses and restore trust in the world’s communications.

Interested in learning more about how collaboration across industries can help reduce fraud and improve consumer protection? Download the full “United States of Scams” report.