The role Customer Success teams play in combating identity fraud has been a topic of increased focus over the past several months. And it’s crucial for the leaders of these teams to understand the root causes of identity fraud before they can confidently advise their customers about how to effectively mitigate the most relevant threats to their business.
Take, for instance, the time-worn example of stealing an identity to gain financial leverage. In the past, Person A might have stolen a wallet and then gained access to Person B’s bank account by using the stolen debit card and ID of Person B.
The deepfake threat
Fast-forward to today, where criminals have the means to create synthetic media, perhaps more commonly known as deepfakes (video, audio, etc.). A bad actor might use a deepfake to gain access to someone’s bank account to make a wire transfer.
Also possible is the use of a deepfake to open a brand new account at a financial institution. Deepfake phishing is yet another way fraudsters can use synthetic media to pretend they are someone they are not, to gain entry to a company’s network.
Related hazards
Financial crimes are among the most frequent perpetrated by deepfake scammers, but there are countless applications possible of the use of deepfakes to create harm. Spreading misinformation, damaging someone’s reputation, and even posting online reviews (positive or negative) are just a few examples of non-financial scams perpetrated by the use of deepfakes.
In the political sphere, deepfakes have the potential to manipulate public opinion by creating false statements or actions from leaders. Additionally, in personal relationships, deepfakes could be used to fabricate evidence in legal disputes, highlighting the wide-ranging and deeply concerning implications of this technology.
Understanding deepfakes
Let’s get back to the basics for a moment. In short, a deepfake can be a video, an audio clip, or a combination of both. Typically, a deepfake is created by using a photo of someone’s face and some audio from that person. That source material is then fed into a deep learning algorithm, usually involving neural networks, to analyze and learn patterns from the collected data.
The result is a video that looks and sounds exactly like the person, but in reality, was only created with the sparse inputted information. The potential to create new content with just a handful of existing pictures or sound is really tremendous.
A rapid improvement in quality
For a quick study, enter “Tom Cruise deepfake,” into your computer browser and watch one of the top YouTube videos that appear in your search results. Whether you are a fan or not, you will very likely find yourself wondering how they created that realistic video. The truth is, you no longer have the ability to discern what is real and what is not real when you see and hear video content.
Today, simpler, cheaper technology can create content that is impossible to detect as fraudulent. In the US, the FBI warns of certain danger signs, but in reality, even the most highly trained FBI official is not able to easily or quickly spot fraud simply by looking at and hearing the video.
Implications for customer success
First, understand the journey your client wants to lead their own customers on. Why are you asking your client to authenticate their identity digitally? What documents might your customer use? For instance, if you are looking to make an auto loan, it might make sense to use driver’s licenses, but passports or military IDs may not be at all pertinent to that flow. What happens if your client is not able to immediately get authenticated?
Customer Success means helping your clients respond to threats specifically aimed at their business. We have to lead by telling our customers what they should be wary of. They depend on us to understand their goals and help them to make the right decisions that lead to the best outcomes for their business.
Be an expert on your clients’ needs
The bottom line: We need to partner with our customers to help them identify and authenticate good customers while preventing the bad ones from entering the scene.
Guiding your own end clients to understand that they need to know their customers, and what risks await if they don’t, is the key to your mutual success. At the end of the day, eyes—and ears—are not enough to stop sophisticated threats. Working together with your client to understand potential threats and how they might impact their business helps reduce the resources required to steer clear of them.
About the post:
Images and videos are generative AI-created. Prompt: Wide shot of a surreally luxurious hotel lobby. In the center, right in front of the viewer, is a smiling 30-year-old Asian male concierge stands behind an ornate desk gesturing behind him. Exquisite intricate marble floors with gold inlays, massive crystal chandeliers hanging from ornate ceiling. Grand sweeping staircase with gold banisters. Plush velvet furnishings in rich jewel tones. Decorative fountain with water feature in foreground. Warm, soft lighting creating an opulent atmosphere. Hyper-realistic style, architectural photography, cinematic lighting.. Tools: Midjourney, Luma.
About the author:
Lisa Hern is IDVerse’s Head of Customer Success for North America. With over 15 years of experience in customer support, she is a proven leader in the space. A relentless customer advocate and cultivator of relationships, Lisa has also been certified as a naturalist in the state of California. She is based in Sunnyvale, CA.
