Treating fraud as an ecosystem: regulators, firms to debate fixes

Forbes will host an online webinar, in association with Ecommpay, that brings together compliance and financial-crime specialists to discuss treating fraud as an ecosystem and how regulators and firms should respond to AI-enhanced, psychology-focused attacks.

The session will examine regulatory reform, data sharing and whether a standardised, industry-wide approach can replace fragmented, organisation-level defences. Panelists will review how fraud has shifted from technical exploits to methods that target human decision-making and trust.

Speakers listed to take part include Willem Wellinghoff, UK Chair and Chief Compliance Officer at Ecommpay; Anne Leslie, Head of Cloud Risk EMEA at IBM; and Pallavi Kapale, Senior Financial Crime Officer (FIU) (2LOD) at Bank of China. Teresa Connors will moderate the discussion.

Interpol describes fraud as ‘one of the world’s most severe and rapidly evolving transnational crimes, with significant economic and human consequences,’ and cites research estimating AI-enhanced fraud is about 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods. The webinar will cover social engineering, deepfake audio and persuasion techniques that aim at people rather than systems.

The event will address why current defences often fall short. Multiple regulatory and oversight bodies handle parts of fraud prevention, so no single authority holds complete responsibility. Individual organisations build separate frameworks and tools, and limited data sharing between firms reduces detection and response capability across the wider ecosystem.

Panelists will consider whether a unified regulatory approach can recognise different business sizes and models, which legal or structural barriers prevent firms from sharing fraud intelligence, and what reforms could clarify accountability without adding disproportionate burdens on smaller companies.

Speakers will also debate standardised processes for fraud prevention. Advocates say common frameworks could speed detection, allow automated sharing of suspicious indicators and set consistent reporting standards. Opposing points will include differences in data formats and systems, privacy and liability concerns, and commercial risks of sharing sensitive information.

The webinar will consider practical steps that regulators and firms could take now, including improving interoperability of detection tools, agreeing minimum data-sharing protocols, clarifying which authorities lead on cross-border incidents, and creating legal safe harbours for firms that share threat information in good faith. Panelists will assess how these measures might affect reporting requirements and compliance costs, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.