Industry-wide collaboration against the growing scam threat
ScamCheck lets consumers check the probability that a website is unsafe
At SIDN Inspire 2022, three leading Dutch anti-abuse organisations are today launching the Dutch version of ScamCheck. The new service from Veiliginternetten.nl, ECP | Platform for the Information Society and Thuiswinkel.org lets consumers check the probability that a website is unsafe. "ScamCheck is an important step forward in terms of helping consumers and businesses use the internet safely," says Esther Mieremet of Veiliginternetten.nl.
Around the world, the total number of reported online scams has risen from 139 million to 266 million. "The density of digital users is higher in the Netherlands than almost anywhere else, and the country has become Europe's digital main port. Online security and resilience against internet fraud is therefore more important than ever. Fraudsters are shifting their attention from the physical domain to the virtual domain. Where their targets are not only businesses, but also increasingly consumers. ScamCheck is a vehicle for fulfilling our responsibility to address those developments," says Marlene ten Ham, Director of Thuiswinkel.org.
"By making the tool available here, we're boosting the security of the internet in the Netherlands. It'll mean that consumers can check sites, and that businesses can demonstrate that their websites are trustworthy. ScamCheck works in partnership with consumers and businesses. Anyone can contribute information about the (un)trustworthiness of a website. Input from stakeholders reinforces the tool and keeps it up to date," explains Marjolijn Bonthuis of ECP | Platform for the Information Society.
Input providers include Dutch organisations, such as Thuiswinkel.org and the Chamber of Commerce, plus international actors, such as Trustpilot (for reviews), Quad9 (malware), ScamAdviser (scams) and Netsweeper (phishing etc). Various technical checks are performed as well, taking in variables such as website and domain name creation dates. ScamCheck combines all the input and test results to generate an overall estimate of the probability that a website is trustworthy.
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Website trustworthiness check
ScamCheck is accessed via the Veiliginternetten.nl website. Using the tool, you can get an immediate estimate of a website's legitimacy. As well as being ScamCheck's developer, ScamAdviser is a key input provider. Central to the working of ScamAdviser is a continuously refined Trustscore algorithm. The algorithm identifies logical relationships between data sources to arrive at a Trustscore for each scanned site. So, for example, a webshop that is only a week old but already has a suspiciously large number of positive reviews and exhibits certain other characteristics may be flagged as untrustworthy.
At today's SIDN Inspire 2022, the ScamCheck participants signed a cooperation covenant. SIDN's CEO Roelof Meijer always welcomes initiatives that support safe use of the internet. "Here at SIDN, we work hard to identify and take down fake websites as soon as possible. However, it's impossible to nip every single scam in the bud. A tool that lets consumers check for themselves the trustworthiness of a website or webshop is therefore invaluable. And that's exactly what ScamCheck does."
Board member Oscar Diele signed the covenant on behalf of Thuiswinkel.org. The tool goes live on 26 May. Over the summer, ScamCheck will be further adapted to the Dutch internet landscape. Meanwhile, ECP | Platform for the Information Society will be actively looking to recruit new ScamCheck partners. If you're interested, please drop a line to info@veiliginternetten.nl.
Watch the (Dutch) recordings of the launch of the ScamCheck during SIDN Inspire 2022.
