Solutions engineers interact with clients and partners to discover their challenges and offer real world solutions that help address them. On a daily basis, we help answer technical questions to ensure customer success. As solutions engineers, we are immersed in the world of digital fraud and love to put our problem-solving skills to good use in helping others avoid common pitfalls. That’s why we started a new blog series entitled “The Voice of Solutions Engineering”. In this series, we will examine a myriad of relevant topics around online fraud and the technology designed to prevent it.
In this introductory episode, we’ll take a sneak peek at some of the thought-provoking subjects we will be exploring. As Telesign’s Head of Solutions Engineering, I am privileged to share some of the concepts that get us energized or alternatively, keep us up at night.
SMS and its alternatives
The first blog will take us through a comprehensive discussion of SMS and its alternatives. In today’s world, multi-factor authentication using a one-time passcode is the standard. But the costs to send SMS traffic are rising steeply in some regions. What other forms of communication could be used to ensure proper authentication? Are companies considering new ways to secure their B2C traffic? Are there other shortcomings or forms of exposure that SMS alternatives will face to become widely adopted?
Phone number recycling
Have you ever considered the challenges of phone number recycling? We will address the three main concerns for companies that see the same numbers repeatedly. In certain parts of the globe, recycling makes it difficult to manage digital identity and reputation via phone number. We will address unsatisfactory user experience during sign-up/registration. Then we will move through the sign-in experience where account takeover (ATO) can happen. Finally, we will address the proliferation of personally identifiable information (PII) about the phone number’s past owner, which causes compliance issues.
Social engineering fraud
Could a cybercriminal acquire your one-time passcodes (OTP) as you log into various financial accounts? We will explore the post-pandemic reality of social engineering fraud, which has exploded as the Covid-19 pandemic slowly resolves. Instead of the bot-based assault on fintech and banking industry icons, old-fashioned social engineering has become more popular. Are alternatives to OTP the answer? We will look at the answers to this important question.
The role of machine learning in fighting fraud
Unless you are an avid online gamer, you aren’t aware of the power struggle in which gaming developers are engaged. Gaming companies favor high-speed onboarding of new players, but fraudulent accounts are creating toxic experiences for players and driving away legitimate customers. In this blog, we will evaluate the advantages of introducing traffic pattern recognition powered by machine learning in fighting bad actors. We will also detail how combining static and dynamic verification methods to create a holistic solution will increase player confidence in the brand while keeping the community safe.
SIM swap scary stories
SIM swap is one of the most lucrative forms of fraud with billions in losses annually. We will take a deeper look at sensational SIM swap headlines such as, “Woman Loses Life Savings in SIM Swap Scam” and “San Antonio Pair Plead Guilty to SIM Swap Scheme.” Is this kind of fraud keeping you up at night? Are you protecting your consumers and your eco-system? We will address these questions and more.
Account takeover and how to prevent it
“Will the real ‘SIM’ Shady please stand up?” In other words, will the real account owner please stand up? In this blog, we will examine the art of effectively using our mobile identity data insights for customers to validate that the originally subscribed user has not been compromised. We will discuss what ATO is, and what can be done to prevent it, including the concept of using one Phone ID data insight to validate another.
How fraudsters fly under the radar
Have you ever received an invoice for something you never purchased? We will explain how you could be defrauded without even knowing it. Join us for a three-part series that digs into the mind of a fraudster and shares tips on how to avoid being their next victim.
The world of AI and fraud prevention
We will look at the role that machine learning (ML), which is a subset of AI, play in fraud prevention through the lens of headlines such as: “Online commerce registers millions in losses due to fraudulent purchases” and “Clients of a financial institution denounce that they were victims of fraud.” ML can help companies detect suspicious patterns and anomalous behavior so you can verify that you are dealing with real users, not scammers.
Promotion abuse
We will look at the high incidence of fraud around Black Friday. This blog examines the “econnoisseur,” and introduces the background, tools, and methods associated with this type of fraud, explaining the underlying logic of promotion abuse.
What’s next
My team spends time with the world’s biggest enterprises around the globe, striving to understand the scope of their problems. Whether it’s toll fraud, ATO and synthetic ID, or social engineered fraud, my team is covering these subjects daily and designing solutions for our customers. We look forward to sharing these stories with you in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned.
