Bitdefender joins the Global Anti-Scam Alliance to combat fraud

Bitdefender has announced its partnership with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) as a Foundation and Advisory Board Member. The collaboration seeks to address the sharp rise in sophisticated online and mobile-based scams, primarily exacerbated by the widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The partnership aims to educate the public, conduct collaborative research, share insights, and implement technology applications to combat these scams effectively.

“Our mission is to bring technology providers together with governments, law enforcement, consumer protection organisations, and other key stakeholders to fight a massive global criminal network specialising in online scams and consumer fraud,” said Jorij Abraham, managing director of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance. Abraham highlighted that leveraging Bitdefender's extensive technical expertise and decades of scam-focused research is crucial in educating the public and building a truly global, cross-sector network to disrupt cybercriminal operations.

Online scams and fraud have been increasing each year. The Global State of Scams 2023 report indicated losses amounting to USD $1 trillion due to scams. Bitdefender’s 2024 Cybersecurity Assessment Report revealed that text messaging scams were the most prevalent security incidents, affecting nearly half of the respondents. The increasing frequency and severity of scams are attributed to the easy accessibility of AI and large language models (LLMs), making it simpler for criminals to create convincing content in any language quickly.

Bitdefender provides an extensive range of technologies and resources designed to prevent online scams and fraud. Its consumer product lines feature core antimalware protection, digital identity protection, and user privacy solutions. The company also boasts one of the industry's largest threat intelligence repositories, powered by hundreds of millions of sensors that continuously collect endpoint threat data, including scam campaigns, globally.

Recently, Bitdefender introduced Scamio, an advanced scam detection tool built on AI. Scamio, which is free to use, provides a robust second opinion and suggests actions on potential fraud attempts by instantly analysing emails, text messages, images, individual links, and even QR codes dropped into its chatbot. The tool's growing popularity has garnered recommendations from top media publications.

Razvan Costache, director of business-to-consumer innovation at Bitdefender, commented on the impact of LLM-based AI on cybercriminal activities, noting its role in the rapid evolution of the threat landscape. “We are pleased to join GASA as a Foundation Member and advisor. Although the term scam may seem benign, it is responsible for delivering most of the malware we see today and duping people out of finances and personal information. We look forward to pooling our resources and collaborating to tackle this serious societal problem together,” Costache stated.