Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams
Online scams are a type of fraud where criminals use digital channels to manipulate or deceive individuals into authorising payments, in good faith, to recipients they believe to be legitimate. They cause significant financial, psychological and emotional harm.
Recent data underscores the scale of the problem: global losses from Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are projected to reach $331 billion by 2027.
In 2019, our research warned that fragmented action would accelerate scam activity. Today, scams spread faster and appear more convincing, as criminal organisations exploit digital technologies and channels to reach billions of potential victims.
Although progress has been made in responding to this global crisis, lasting solutions can only succeed if every nation plays its part.
Our Vision
The digital economy is the fast-growing growing ecosystem of online platforms, services, and technologies. For it to thrive, consumers must trust that it is safe and secure. A resilient digital marketplace where people are protected from scams is an essential.
That’s why Consumers International created the Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams, the only global initiative built with consumer representatives that is dedicated to tackling online scams.
Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams
Founded at the Consumers International Global Congress 2023, the Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams connects the real consumer experience of scams with the systems and decision-makers shaping the global response.
It is open to our Members, government representatives and businesses committed to disrupting the channels used by scammers to target consumers. This includes sectors such as telecommunications, e-commerce, card services, payment providers, and financial institutions.
Coalition participants include:
What does the Coalition do?
Harnessing consumer experiences to strengthen responses
The Coalition meets regularly to exchange information on response strategies to online scams. Similarly, our Scams Barometer provides a twice-yearly global snapshot of implementation challenges, consumer realities and gaps in collective responses. By consolidating these findings, the Coalition builds the evidence needed to inform decision-making and policy.
Mobilising global action and building trust across sectors
The Coalition develops coordinated messages and strategies to respond to scams. In 2025, a dedicated working group developed a Global Action Agenda to protect consumers from Online Scams, including actionable recommendations for governments to strengthen consumer protection, safeguard economies, and enhance trust in digital systems.
Elevating the consumer voice to drive change in the marketplace
The Coalition is a powerful vehicle for joint advocacy. Its participants convene in major international forums, such as those hosted by United Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), and industry dialogues, to amplify the voice of consumers policies, standards, business practices, and public awareness strategies. In doing so, we draw on our approach which combines research, campaigning, inclusive policy design, innovation, bridge-building, and community engagement.
Global Action Agenda
Online scams operate like a pandemic, spreading rapidly and exploiting the weakest points between systems. To assist governments in identifying and closing these gaps, our Global Action Agenda to Protect Consumers from Online Scams provides a set of core principles and a checklist of practical policy actions that together will better protect citizens and contribute to a stronger, more coordinated global response.
It includes a self-assessment checklist across four pillars—Prevent & Disrupt, Empower & Defend, Report & Act, Recover & Deter—helping countries benchmark progress, identify gaps, and prioritise next steps.
Consumers International Scams Barometer
The Consumers International Scams Barometer provides the signals from consumer advocates as to how the global response to online scams is evolving.
Based on insights from Coalition members worldwide, it offers a consumer-driven perspective to help inform advocacy and industry strategies.The inaugural edition of the Scams Barometer shows that:
- Scams activity is on the rise: 71% of our Coalition says that scam activity has slightly or significantly increased in their country or region.
- Action is taking shape: in the past six months, 67% of those surveyed have started new scam prevention initiatives, and 54% formed new partnerships to address scams.
- Gaps remain in reporting and redress: Only 42% of our Coalition believe that consumers are aware of where and how to report scams or seek redress.
The Scams Barometer also spotlights efforts underway by leaders in our Coalition in areas such as scams prevention and detection, consumer empowerment and defence, scams reporting, and recovery and deterrence.
Published every six months, the Scams Barometer will track global progress against these and other metrics, ensuring sustained focus on both the scams environment and the solutions that work to support consumers.
Our Work in Anti-Scams
In 2019, we published Social Media Scams: Understanding the Consumer Experience to Create a Safer Digital World. Using research from two years of public conversation monitoring in nine countries and interviews with key stakeholders, the report reveals the growing threat of scams on social platforms and calls for greater cooperation to protect consumers.
We released the Global Statement to Stop Online Scams at our 2023 Global Congress, in collaboration with our Members. Our statement urges governments to enforce stronger protections against the growing threat of scams on technology platforms.
Join us
We invite partners to join us in making a meaningful impact in the fight against scams, ensuring a safer environment for consumers worldwide. To find out more, please view our Change Network Page and contact partnerships@consint.org.