The third annual BioCatch Connect was held this year in New York and once again proved to be a pivotal event shedding light on the evolving fraud landscape and innovative strategies to combat it. The event united experts across fraud, AML and law enforcement to discuss technological advancements, emerging fraud trends, and the collaborative power of networks in mitigating cybercrime risks.
From the onset, the event emphasized active participation and immersive learning. Attendees were encouraged to interact, ask questions, and explore various innovation stations featuring BioCatch’s latest advancements underscoring our commitment to leveraging behavioral biometrics to combat a range of fraudulent activities, from account takeovers to deepfake scams.
Fraud is an expanding global epidemic
The keynote sessions, led by BioCatch’s CEO Gadi Mazor, painted a sobering picture of modern fraud trends. Global financial losses to fraud and scams have now exceeded a trillion dollars annually, with scammers increasingly targeting end-users instead of directly attacking banks. Notable insights included:
• Shift from Device-Based Fraud to Social Engineering: Fraudsters don’t steal credentials anymore. They now manipulate victims directly into authorizing transactions through persuasive tactics. In North America, the number of social engineering scams reported now represent 23% of all digital banking fraud in the region.
• Deepfake Technology: The rise of generative AI enables fraudsters to convincingly impersonate individuals, further complicating identity verification processes. Real-world cases highlighted included deepfake-powered Zoom meetings used to steal millions.
Mazor also emphasized the need for offensive strategies to identify and dismantle mule accounts—bank accounts controlled by fraudsters that facilitate the movement of stolen funds.
Keynote by Jeff White: Exploring the underbelly of organized cybercrime
To get the day going, award-winning journalist, Geoff White, captivated the audience with a deep dive into organized cybercrime. Drawing from his books, Crimedotcom and The Lazarus Heist, White unraveled the intricate networks that enable global cybercriminal activities, with particular emphasis on:
• North Korean Hacking Groups: These state-sponsored hackers have reportedly stolen billions to fund their regime, showcasing the intersection of cybercrime and geopolitics.
• Romance Scams and Money Laundering: White illustrated how fraudsters exploit victims not only financially but also emotionally, often turning them into unknowing conduits for laundering money.
White concluded by delving into the profound human cost of cybercrime, and the emotional, financial, and psychological toll it takes on victims. Through compelling stories, he revealed the real disruption to the daily lives of those that you rarely hear about beyond the headlines.
Unite to fight financial crime
The morning session concluded with two separate panel sessions.
The first panel consisted of members of the Information Sharing Committee from the Knoble, moderated by founder, Ian Mitchell. This session underscored the urgent need for enhanced information sharing and collaboration to combat financial crimes such as scams, human trafficking, and cyber-enabled fraud. Panelists highlighted the challenges posed by outdated and fragmented systems like 314b, which often delay critical data exchanges between financial institutions and law enforcement. Regulatory barriers and a lack of streamlined processes further hinder proactive fraud prevention efforts. Despite these obstacles network-based innovations demonstrate the potential to create scalable, privacy-preserving platforms for real-time information sharing.
The discussion also emphasized the human cost of financial crimes, with panelists sharing harrowing examples of victims, including suicides and the funding of human trafficking through fraudulent activities. Collaboration across industries, particularly with social media platforms that often serve as conduits for fraud, was identified as a critical step forward. The panel called for regulatory reforms and the adoption of advanced technologies to revolutionize fraud prevention. Initiatives like the Knoble, which unites financial institutions in the fight against human trafficking, showcase the industry’s capacity to protect not just transactions but the individuals affected by these crimes.
Gadi Mazor returned to the stage to have a fireside chat with two banking executives where they highlighted the increasing sophistication of financial crime, driven by generative AI and advanced fraud tactics. They discussed how generative AI is being weaponized to create realistic phishing campaigns and deepfake personas for romance scams. At the same time, financial institutions are leveraging AI for proactive fraud detection and enhanced behavioral analytics. However, challenges persist, particularly in combating social engineering scams, where victims often trust the fraudsters more than their banks. Collaboration across industries is crucial, as financial institutions alone cannot address systemic issues involving social media platforms, app stores, and telecommunications companies.
Bank executives emphasized the importance of innovation and global cooperation in fraud prevention and underscored a desire for the U.S. to adopt frameworks like those in Australia and the UK, promoting cross-industry collaboration. Despite the challenges, leveraging AI, behavioral analytics, and shared intelligence offers hope for combating organized financial crime effectively.
Unmasking the dark web
The afternoon kicked off with a deep dive into the world of cyber threats, moving from high-level strategy to hands-on insights into the dark web. Threat experts, Alex Solmonovich and Tyler Thisse, captivated the audience with their real-world experiences and cutting-edge data analysis techniques.
Alex broke down common misconceptions about the dark web, replacing myths with facts about its structure and usage. He shed light on fraud ecosystems, explaining how fraudsters operate in a trust-deficient environment and revealing the sophistication behind carding markets, identity forgery, and even "fraud-as-a-service" models. Alex's exploration into high-profile cases offered a fascinating glimpse into the collaborative yet chaotic world of cybercrime.
Tyler followed by bringing these insights to life with a case study demonstrating how fraud schemes evolve. Using data from BioCatch, he showcased the intricate networks fraudsters rely on and the behavioral cues that can reveal their activities. His session highlighted how collaboration among fraudsters parallels the teamwork needed among fraud prevention experts.
The session concluded with recommendations on identifying red flags, such as unusual app installations and in-session behaviors.
Data tells a scary story
Tom Peacock and Seth Rudin highlighted findings from the North America Digital Fraud Trends Report, revealing key shifts in fraud dynamics across the US and Canada, and the role of behavioral analytics in fraud prevention.
Key highlights from the report include:
• 60% decrease in account opening fraud demonstrates significant strides in prevention.
• Social engineering scams surged tenfold, with reports of mule accounts doubling.
• Deposit fraud tripled, as fraudsters shift focus to exploiting existing accounts.
• In the US, Zelle fraud dominates, while check and deposit fraud remains unique to the region.
• Canadian fraud trends mirror Europe and Australia, as social engineering scams such as bank impersonation and romance scams, remain prevalent. One in seven fraud cases in Canada involves RATs, which fraudsters use to take control of victim sessions to execute scams.
The money has to go somewhere
Fraud and scams can’t proliferate if there is nowhere to send the money. Kevin Donovan, BioCatch’s Senior VP of Emerging Technologies, highlighted the role of mule accounts in the fraud ecosystem and how behavioral intelligence and network analysis are revolutionizing the fight against fraud and financial crime. Some of the key takeaways from the session are highlighted below:
• Fraud detection has evolved from identifying fraudulent sessions to analyzing user psychology and mapping connections across networks.
• Mule accounts, essential to scams and money laundering, are key to identifying where the money goes, and where it leaves the financial systems.
• Behavioral intelligence complements traditional AML practices by uncovering blind spots in KYC and transaction monitoring.
• Fraud and financial crime are interconnected, forming a unified network. Behavioral intelligence enhances detection, aids compliance, and disrupts criminal activities effectively.
The session ended by highlighting the need for innovative tools, such as BioCatch Scout, to help fraud and AML investigators see the bigger picture of criminal networks and move beyond the traditional "whack-a-mole" approach of targeting individual suspicious accounts.
A vision for the future
The event ended, but our work is never done. BioCatch Connect 2024 was a clarion call for collective action against fraud. The insights shared and technologies unveiled reaffirmed the industry's resolve to stay ahead in the ever-changing cyber threat landscape. As financial institutions and tech companies unite, the future promises a safer, more secure digital ecosystem.
On Wednesday morning in Australia, we announced the launch of BioCatch Trust™. As Gadi covered in his Connect presentation, BioCatch Trust™ Australia is a pilot of the world’s first inter-bank, behavior- and device-based, fraud and scams intelligence-sharing network. It exemplifies everything we discussed in New York last week and a massive step forward for the industry in its quest to eradicate financial crime.
See you at BioCatch Connect 2025.
