Insights

Defending Consumer Trust: The Telecom-Finance Alliance Against Fraud

Nov 08, 2023

For better or worse, fraudsters are no longer naïve con men; they are highly sophisticated criminals running complex schemes through multiple communication channels. At the 2023 Somos Summit, members of one of the industries that has been hit hardest – financial institutions – gathered to discuss not only the current landscape of financial fraud but also how a partnership between their industry and telecom is critical to stopping these deceptive schemes.   

Due to the breadth of details and data related to this topic, the conversation was split into two parts – a general session overview as well as a more intimate roundtable breakout session.

Both parts of Raising the Dollar in Consumer Confidence for the Telecom and Financial Industry were moderated by Jaime Zetterstrom, VP of Product Management at Somos, and featured the following financial industry experts:

• Deborah Atta-Fynn, Vice President, Cybersecurity & Technology Controls with JPMorgan Chase & Co. 
• Kasey Flanagan, Vice President with Wells Fargo Fraud Prevention 
• Guy Pearson, Senior Vice President with Bank of America 
• Micah Semon, Security Analyst - Security Intelligence Group with PNC

Part One: The Problem of Impersonation

Jaime opened Part One by presenting the audience with an all-too-common scenario: A call comes in, purportedly from "Your Bank." But are you SURE that it’s your bank? Most people aren’t, leaving customers hesitant to answer these types of calls. And those that DO answer? Unfortunately, more often than not, the person on the other end of the line isn’t a bank agent but rather an imposter looking to defraud the consumer. 

These types of fraudulent schemes are thriving, and with them, creating countless victims and eroding consumer trust. This is a challenge that both the telecom and financial industries are currently facing.

Deborah Atta-Fynn explained that a big part of the challenge is that financial institutions are targeted through multiple channels, making it difficult to trace, let alone stop, bad actors. Even more troubling is that the schemes are getting increasingly intricate – financial institutions are seeing everything from phone calls impersonating bank employees to smishing attempts to gather customer information. Voice over IP (VoIP) channels are also proving to be a fertile feeding ground for fraud, as they can facilitate both voice calls and text messages.

Micah Semon echoed Deborah’s sentiment, highlighting that PNC customers are also being accosted across multiple channels. Criminals have become increasingly advanced, stated Micah, with text phishing being one of the most prevailing tactics. They often send SMS messages with callback phone numbers, prompting unknowing consumers to call and provide sensitive information, such as debit card numbers, PINs, social security numbers, etc. This practice of impersonation has become progressively elaborate and well-orchestrated, even going as far as exploiting nuances like area codes to appear legitimate.

Kasey Flanagan continued the conversation by sharing a recent impersonation tactic involving spoofed phone numbers. In this scenario, customers received a call from a number impersonating Wells Fargo while simultaneously being sent a text from a non-Wells Fargo number containing a link. Clicking the link leads to a fake Wells Fargo login page, where customers unwittingly are prompted to give away their credentials. According to Kasey, fraudsters have gone so far as to engineer one-time passwords during this process.

Guy Pearson further stressed the importance of collaboration: "This conference is a great example – we need to start talking about the threats our shared clients face.” He further called for establishing a framework for sharing threat intelligence across various industries. He proposed setting an ambitious goal that, when achieved collectively, could effectively combat fraudulent activities. The ultimate objective is to make a safer space for all, ensuring the protection of everyone who relies on online services.

Part One of Raising the Dollar in Consumer Confidence for the Telecom and Financial Industry emphasized the critical importance of identifying impersonation fraud. The threat is not only real but also getting worse and negatively affecting everyone in the ecosystem, from financial institutions to consumers to telecom. 

The experts from the financial industry all agreed that collaboration is critical. Sharing information, identifying patterns and proactively addressing telecom fraud are all steps that can be taken to mitigate and prevent fraud. Specifically, the group emphasized the need for more cross-industry sharing. They also encouraged the two industries to work together and leverage their collective knowledge to minimize abuse trends.
 

Part Two: Collaboration is No Longer Optional

Part Two of the presentation delved deeper into the challenges introduced in Part One as well as stressed the need for collaboration between the financial industry and telecom. Both industries share common clients who are facing issues that require collective action. Customers play a vital role in reporting abuse, but by the time they do, the damage may already be done. Financial institutions need to be proactive in their approach to combat fraud.

One significant challenge both industries face is that fraudsters use real phone numbers, making it nearly impossible for customers to distinguish between legitimate and fake calls. Specifically, sophisticated con artists impersonate financial institutions via email-to-text channels, using text messages with spoofed sources and phone numbers. This complexity makes it hard for customers to differentiate between genuine and fake calls, necessitating collaboration with the telecom industry to tackle such issues on a larger scale.

The panelists also stressed the importance of being proactive and acting as soon as issues are reported. However, financial institutions are constrained by the lack of access to telecom company data. This limitation underscores the need for collaboration between these two industries to combat fraud more effectively.

Overall, the two-part presentation at the 2023 Somos Summit painted a vivid picture of the challenges financial institutions face in their battle against sophisticated fraudsters. The message was clear: the fight against modern-day spoofers is complex, but the willingness to cooperate and seek solutions is a significant step toward thwarting fraudulent activity.

For those looking to join the charge, one of the most immediate things people can do to contribute to the cause is report, Report, REPORT! For those not sure where to start, the following email addresses, provided by the session’s panelists, provide a great first step to reporting fraudulent bank activity: 

• Abuse@bankofamerica.com
• Phishing@chase.com
• Abuse@pnc.com
• Phishing@wellsfargo.com

As we learned from Raising the Dollar in Consumer Confidence for the Telecom and Financial Industry, the telecom and financial industries can make communications safer by identifying and addressing abuse trends, sharing information and driving solutions to protect consumers and restore trust in financial institutions. It's a daunting task, but it must be undertaken to bring back trust in the digital world.

To learn more about the 2023 Somos Summit and to gain access to on-demand recordings, visit www.somos.com/summit.