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Scam Ranger Trailer - The WHY
473 Plays2 years ago
My name is Ayelet Biger-Levin and I have spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. I have always been focused on protecting the banking transaction or activity, but when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. I’ve created this podcast to talk about the human side of scams, and to learn from people who have decided to dedicate their lives to speaking up on behalf of scam victims and who take action to solve this problem.
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Transcript
Understanding Metrics in Fraud Prevention
00:00:00
Speaker
How do fraud fighters measure success? There's an abundance of metrics such as total fraud costs, fraud prevention rate, false positive and false negative rates, operational costs, and the list goes on and on. And once fraud is identified, how is customer reimbursement determined?
00:00:18
Speaker
Well, regulatory liability is an easy start, but when it comes to scams, which result in authorized payments, when the customers themselves are tricked into transferring the money to criminals, it gets a little tricky.
00:00:32
Speaker
The money could be transferred online or in the branch, via checks, P2P, such as Zelle or CashApp, ACH transfers, or even gift cards. In this case, other policies will determine whether customers are compensated for their monetary loss.
The Emotional Impact of Scams
00:00:49
Speaker
But there's another side of scams, the human side. The emotional toll that scams have on victims leaving them with a blend of feelings. Shame, guilt, despair and frustration. Or we can sum it all in one word, trauma. Scams have an impact that can go well beyond the financial aspect.
00:01:11
Speaker
and well beyond the individual. Scams can tear families apart and can even lead to suicide. Criminals have perfected some scams to the level of draining out every dollar, pound or euro people have and even convincing them to take loans.
Technological Solutions to Combat Fraud
00:01:28
Speaker
My name is Ayelet Begur-Lavin and I have spent the last 15 years working for companies like IBM, RSA Security, and BioCatch, building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. I've always been focused on protecting the banking transaction or activity.
00:01:45
Speaker
But when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. It often starts with an instant message on SMS, WhatsApp, or other platforms where the criminal allures the victim by enticing them to respond, grooms them, controls them by instilling excitement or fear, and then manipulates them until the point where they can finally harvest the victim's money, which leaves the victim with both financial loss and deep trauma. Let's break it down using an investment scam example.
00:02:16
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Luring the victim a random out of the blue text message from a lovely lady who is so sorry for making a mistake and contacting you, but thinks you're very patient and would love to chat some more. Grooming, displaying a flashy lifestyle, being your friend, and convincing you to invest some money, which you do in small sums, and then you see a return on investment, which makes you happy and engaged. Then control and manipulation.
00:02:43
Speaker
She convinces you to invest more money to see bigger profits, where you feel a sense of hope and delight and then manipulates you with a sharp U-turn into fear, saying you have to pay taxes and put more money to get a return. You are now worried
00:02:59
Speaker
But all your money is in the investment scheme, so you'll have no other option but to listen to this person and do what they say. This process can take between hours if it's an impersonation scam to months for an investment or romance scam.
00:03:14
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but in all cases the criminal needs to establish trust. The right amount of trust is built such that there are many cases where a bank or a relative can actually see the scam happening and will try to convince the victim that they are being scammed and stop the activity.
00:03:31
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but the victim doesn't believe them. How does this happen? The victims are too deeply involved in the emotional manipulation. They think that the person they met online will finish their job on the oil rig and come back to marry them. They believe that although they haven't been able to get their investment profits out, that the profit they have seen in the past will repeat itself.
Collaborative Efforts in Anti-Scam Movements
00:03:52
Speaker
But what if we could actually stop the scam before this happens?
00:03:58
Speaker
I've created this podcast to talk about the human side of scams and to learn from people who have decided to dedicate their lives to speaking up on behalf of scam victims and who take action to solve this problem. They take action by spreading awareness, driving regulation, supporting and training law enforcement, leveraging technologies such as tools to investigate the blockchain and detect crypto scams.
00:04:23
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We will hear from activists, researchers, prosecutors, human trafficking experts, and other advocates telling the story of scams and scam victims from their perspectives. I hope you enjoy the podcast.
Connecting with the Host for More Insights
00:04:37
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And if you want to learn more, follow me on LinkedIn. I get at bigger 11. I often share content and stories about the latest online scam trends and related news. Let's jump in.
00:04:52
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Scam Rangers, a podcast about the human side of fraud and the people who are on a mission to protect us. I am your host, Ayaedet Bigger Levine, and I'm passionate about driving awareness and solving this problem.