Beyond Silos: Exploring Collaborative Solutions to Protect Financial Inclusion Clients from Fraud and Scams
PROTECT was pleased to host “Beyond Silos: Exploring Collaborative Solutions to Protect Financial Inclusion Clients from Fraud and Scams,” featuring Erin West, Founder and President of Operation Shamrock, and Matt Van Buskirk, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hummingbird Regtech.
The conversation was moderated by Nat Weber of AIR and focused on translating PROTECT’s commitment to collaboration into practical capabilities that can prevent harm, disrupt criminal networks, and preserve progress toward financial inclusion. A central theme was the fragmented view of criminal activity across banks, fintechs, telecommunications companies, and law enforcement: each holds only part of the picture, making effective coordination critical. Addressing fraud and scams therefore requires stakeholders to align incentives, share information, and connect insights across organizations. Strengthening this connective tissue can provide a more comprehensive view of criminal networks, reveal links among individual cases, and support more coordinated efforts to protect consumers.
A recording of the event is available below.
Erin West, Founder and President, Operation Shamrock
Erin West is the Founder and President of Operation Shamrock, a global nonprofit dedicated to disrupting transnational scam networks through collaboration between law enforcement, industry, and the public. A retired prosecutor with 26 years of service in Santa Clara County, California, she is internationally recognized for her expertise in cryptocurrency investigations and organized cybercrime. Erin has become a leading voice in the fight against pig butchering scams and other forms of digital fraud. She also hosts the Stolen podcast, highlighting the human impact of online crime and inspiring audiences worldwide to take action against the global scam economy.
Matt Van Buskirk, Co-Founder and C-CEO, Hummingbird Regtech
Matt is a regulatory futurist and an advocate for the development of open-source and interoperable software solutions for the regulatory space. He is a frequent speaker on regulatory modernization in venues around the world. Prior to launching Hummingbird, Matt was the director of compliance at Circle.com where he oversaw its regulatory compliance program from pre-launch to its international expansion. Circle is a blockchain technology company focused on transforming the world economy with secure, simple, and less costly technology for storing and using money. In this role, Matt developed a set of methodologies for building effective compliance and risk programs in cryptocurrency fintechs that has informed much of his later work. Matt has also served as a bank regulator with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Thrift Supervision and worked with the regulatory consulting firm Treliant Risk Advisors.
His speaking credentials include a number of government agency and financial industry events such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Fintech Festival, Money 2020 in the U.S. and Europe, Finovate Europe, the ABA Regulatory Compliance and Financial Crimes Conferences, and at government agencies such as the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Japanese, Irish and Dutch Central Banks, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Reserve. He has also appeared on the Nasdaq Tech Talks TV segment.
Nat Weber, Chief Development and Impact Officer, Americas, Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR)
Nat Weber is Chief Development & Impact Officer for the Americas at AIR where he is responsible for advancing strategic partnerships, strengthening development efforts across the Americas, and supporting responsible innovation that improves financial systems and consumer outcomes.
Prior to joining AIR, Nat served in several leadership roles over a 13+ year career at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). During his tenure, he helped establish and scale the Office of Consumer Response and led multiple efforts to streamline and modernize consumer financial regulations and regulatory capabilities in the Office of Competition and Innovation. He helped formalize the organization’s TechSprint program; directed external engagement with innovators and RegTech providers to foster consumer-beneficial product development and lower regulatory compliance costs; and developed a horizon-monitoring program aimed at forecasting trends in the financial sector and assessing potential regulatory uncertainty or conflict associated with emerging technologies in consumer finance. Nat also supported efforts to strengthen interagency collaboration amongst state and federal regulators as well as cross-border regulatory coordination through leadership with the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN). Nat is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager.
Previously, Nat served in the U.S. Department of State deploying modernized technology to embassies and consulates around the globe; the U.S. Department of Defense, supporting rapid acquisition of technologies to combat IED attacks; and the White House, where he worked as a writer.
About PROTECT
Co-led by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), and the Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR), PROTECT is a global initiative bringing together actors across the global financial inclusion ecosystem to tackle the rising threat of fraud and scams. The initiative brings together regulators, technology platforms, telcos, financial institutions, and funders working together to surface evidence, gather emerging solutions, advocate for allocation of resources, and build a support base for investment in combatting fraud and scams globally.