Inside the Fraud Lab

How should we respond to the risks posed by AI and disinformation? And can AI be used defensively? In this episode, Simon sits down with Mike Speirs, Customer Director at Faculty, who is working to transform defense and national security capabilities through AI. The two discuss the impact of corporate disinformation, in addition to political disinformation, and the importance of digital literacy. ---------Key Quotes:“We are moving away from the space where you'll look at an image and you'll see someone with six fingers. That's pretty easy for someone to pick up. That kind of window of opportunity of being able to pick up on those types of really obvious tells of a synthetic image is starting to close out.”“Most people are unaware that there is also a huge economic cost of disinformation. It targets corporations as well as countries.”Timestamps: (02:14) Unpacking the different types of deepfakes (07:57) The cost of corporate disinformation (11:34) How should we respond to the risks posed by deepfakes and disinformation? (14:07) Is watermarking effective? ---------Links:Mike Speirs on LinkedInSimon Horswell on LinkedInThe Fraud LabOnfido’s Identity Fraud Report [Subscribe to the Podcast] On Apple Podcasts---------

How can we encourage intel sharing between the private and public sector, while meeting regulations and protecting privacy? In this episode, Simon discusses reciprocity in intel-sharing with Jim Hitchcock, VP of Fraud Prevention at American Bankers Association. There Jim serves as the association’s primary expert on fraud mitigation activities and programs. The two also discuss the resurgence of low tech scams and social engineering to beat automated defenses.---------Key Quotes:“I just sat down with the US Secret Service…. What they were saying was they get a little  frustrated in the sense of not understanding why, when they might call a financial institution and say, “Hey, there's fraudulent money coming your way”, they may freeze that money, send it back to the initial, the sending institution, but then things just kind of end there and they don't get any positive feedback. And all the secret service is trying to do is collect more of that information to try to identify  a real person that they could go out and talk to and maybe arrest later on down the street.”“Financial institutions also have concerns about the lack of law enforcement feedback. But law enforcement can't always give feedback, right? Because….if they're sitting on an individual that they might arrest, sometimes you just can't give that information back. They might have had grand jury documents out to obtain some of this information.So there's secrecy issues there.”Timestamps: (01:28) The challenges of intel sharing between the private sector and law enforcement (08:43) Are there concerns of the government showing favoritism to certain companies?(15:58) Is there equal reciprocity when sharing information? (20:42) Pig-butchering compounds in SE Asia (26:10) A rise in low-tech, in-person scams---------Links:Jim Hitchcok on LinkedInSimon Horswell on LinkedInThe Fraud LabOnfido’s Identity Fraud Report [Subscribe to the Podcast] On Apple Podcasts

How can businesses discourage friendly fraud and what is a professional disputer? In this episode, Simon is joined by Michael Fox, who has significant experience in fraud detection in the financial industry, having worked for President’s Choice Financial, Capital One and Meridian Credit Union before moving to his current role at KOHO, a Neobank based in Canada. The two discuss the evolution of fraud and detection efforts, as well as the rise in friendly fraud and dispute fraud. ---------Key Quotes:“It is often what I call a crime of opportunity where it's a boyfriend or a relative or a grandson. This is often not professional fraudsters going out there and doing complicated hacks. It is that crime of opportunity. Somebody needs a little bit of money and they do that.”Timestamps: (01:07) Intro to Michael and Koho(02:05) How has fraud evolved?(06:48) What is friendly fraud?(11:36) What can businesses do to stop friendly fraud?(13:09) How has fraud detection evolved over the past couple of years?(19:34) Building trust through good friction (22:10) Big upcoming change due to deepfakes ---------Links:Michael Fox on LinkedInSimon Horswell on LinkedInThe Fraud LabOnfido’s Identity Fraud Report [Subscribe to the Podcast] On Apple Podcasts

What is insider risk, and how can it be detected? In this episode, Simon is joined by Dave Burroughs, a fraud and forensic investigations expert who spent 25 years in the FBI and continues to offer his expertise in fraud as a Partner at Stoneturn, a global professional services firm. They discuss all things insider risk: what it is, the motivations behind it, and the red flags to look out for.---------Key Quotes:“Insider risk has a lot of definitions, but, generally speaking, it's really anyone (that could be an employee, a subcontractor, a fellow, a partner of the organization) who has access to information and or assets and maliciously or unwittingly exploits that access and basically exposes those assets.”“[Company culture] is a key factor. Your technology is only going to take you so far.”---------Time stamps:(01:37) What is insider risk?(04:12) What motivates insiders to act nefariously?(07:06) How company culture impacts insider risk (08:31) Red flags to look out for (12:32) What role does technology pay? (16:06) Surprises and lessons from Dave’s time in the FBI(21:10) The most interesting fraud case Dave has worked on (24:14) The longest case he’s worked on (26:33) How will the fraud landscape change in the next few years? ---------Links:Dave Burroughs on LinkedInSimon Horswell on LinkedInThe Fraud LabOnfido’s Identity Fraud Report [Subscribe to the Podcast] On Apple Podcasts

How can businesses protect themselves against deepfakes? In this episode, Simon is joined by Ahron Geminder, Global Head of Digital Identity, Wealth & Personal Banking at HSBC, to discuss fraud detection and prevention in the banking industry. They dive into how AI is changing the landscape, the imminent challenges presented by deepfakes, and how to take a black mirror approach when thinking about potential issues. ---------Key Quotes:“If you want zero fraud, then you have zero customers.”“Deep fakes are going to become the norm. I think it's going to become a lot more prolific than we have right now. I think prevention for deep fakes is probably going to be one of the biggest challenges that most companies are going to face.”---------Time stamps:(01:15) How is the fraud landscape changing?(05:03) The impact of bias and familiarity(06:22) Finding the balance between prevention and user experience(12:58) Organized fraudsters versus lone wolves(17:46) Challenges across the industry from generative AI / deep fakes (21:34) The Black Mirror Approach (23:50) What does Ahron see coming next? ---------Links:Ahron Geminder on LinkedInSimon Horswell on LinkedInThe Fraud LabOnfido’s Identity Fraud Report [Subscribe to the Podcast] On Apple Podcasts