Scam Rangers Ayelet Biger-Levin

In this episode of Scam Rangers, we sit down with Ken Westbrook, a former member of the US intelligence community, as he shares the story that sparked his mission to combat online scams. Ken opens up about his mother's unfortunate encounter with online criminals and how it inspired him to take action.

With the founding of Stop Scams Alliance, Ken discusses his efforts to drive change at the national level, drawing inspiration from successful initiatives implemented by the British government. He outlines the strategies employed across the pond and advocates for similar action within the United States, emphasizing the importance of government intervention in combating cybercrime.

Join us as we explore Ken Westbrook's journey from personal tragedy to public advocacy, shedding light on the pressing issue of online scams and the collective effort needed to address it effectively. This episode serves as a call to action for individuals and policymakers alike, urging everyone to unite in the fight against digital deception.


This podcast is hosted by Ayelet Biger-Levin  who spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. She believes that when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. She has 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. Be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to learn about her additional activities in this space.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/ 

ScamRanger: https://scamranger.ai/

Resources:

Stop Scams Alliance: https://www.stopscamsalliance.org/

Op Ed New York Times: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/25/scams-ruin-american-lives-present/

Stop Scams UK: https://stopscamsuk.org.uk/

UK Strategy to sop scams: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-blueprint-to-protect-public-from-scammers

Australia strategy to stop scams:

In the first episode of Season 2 of Scam Rangers, we dive into the perspective of a Fraud Strategy leader in a US financial institution.  What is the difference between dealing with traditional account takeover fraud (unauthorized payments) and online scams (authorized payments) from the perspective of serving and retaining customers? What are the considerations leadership should take into account and how do financial institutions create the right level of friction while protecting their customer from online scams? We also explore a bank's standpoint regarding forthcoming regulations on a global scale and the much-needed but often overlooked aspect of cross-industry collaboration in the United States. Lastly, Karen sheds light on the demanding role of fraud analysts who often double as customer service representatives and therapists, a challenge faced by many members of fraud operations teams

This podcast is hosted by Ayelet Biger-Levin  who spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. She believes that when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. She has 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. Be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to learn about her additional activities in this space.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/

ScamRanger: https://scamranger.ai/

In this episode we take a look at the activity around regulation with regards to online scams in the US, UK and Australia, following comprehensive analysis done by Ken over the last year. The overall outlook is pretty positive. We see a lot of good attention, especially in the UK, and we are optimistic about the future of protecting consumers. However, there is still a lot more to be done.

To learn more about Ken and his work, follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-palla-09b585/



This podcast is hosted by Ayelet Biger-Levin  who spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. She believes that when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. She has 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. Be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to learn about her additional activities in this space.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/ ScamRanger: https://scamranger.ai/

In this episode we talk to Gabi Friedlander at Wizer about how financial institutions can create effective awareness to educate their customers on online scams, and how educating kids in school about basic concepts of online safety can help prevent scams later in life, such as romance scams, investment scams, sextortion and phishing, to name a few. At the end of the episode Gaby provides concrete advice on how you, as fraud fighters, can collaborate with your marketing teams to drive differentiated scam awareness for your customers.

You can find Gaby here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielfriedlander/

Wizer: https://www.wizer-training.com/



This podcast is hosted by Ayelet Biger-Levin  who spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. She believes that when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. She has 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. Be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to learn about her additional activities in this space.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/

ScamRanger: https://scamranger.ai/

In this fascinating episode of Scam Rangers we discuss the atmosphere that allowed the evolution of  financial grooming, AKA Pig Butchering scams, as well as how these scams have evolved over time and the trajectory in which they are going. Despite a number of arrests and crackdowns, the picture is not pretty. 

Additional Resources mentioned in the podcast:

 CloudSEK report about the task scams:

https://assets-global.website-files.com/635e632477408d12d1811a64/651f4de17bc41545fc74598a_Webwyrm-%20A%20Vast%20Network%20of%20Deception%20by%20Impersonating%20Thousands%20of%20Brands%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf

Humanity Research Consultancy report on cyber-scamming and forced labor:

https://humanity-consultancy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/HRC-Briefing_Cyber-Slavery-in-the-Scamming-Compounds.pdf

And all the links to my stories from 2021 & today that are related to the issues we discussed:

Pig-butchering scams and human trafficking articles by Cezary Podkul:

https://www.propublica.org/article/casinos-cambodia-myanmar-laos-southeast-asia-fraud-cybercrime

https://www.propublica.org/article/whats-a-pig-butchering-scam-heres-how-to-avoid-falling-victim-to-one

https://www.propublica.org/article/pig-butchering-scams-raided-cambodia-apple-trafficking

https://www.propublica.org/article/human-traffickers-force-victims-into-cyberscamming

This podcast is hosted by Ayelet Biger-Levin  who spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. She believes that when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. She has 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. Be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to learn about her additional activities in this space.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/

After completing his military service of 26 years in the US Military, Bryan Denny was approached one day via LinkedIn, where he opened a profile to start his job search, by a women who thought she was in a relationship with him. She was scammed by a criminal who stole Bryan's photos and created a fake profile to lure women into relationships and then ask for money.

This incident, which happened in 2016, was the first of many that continue to impact Bryan's life and the life of his family, as a victim of identity theft.  Bryan founded an organization to help romance scam victims, Advocating Against Romance Scammers, and together with his co-founder, Kathy Waters, advocates for change in the responsibility social media should have to ensure clean and reliable communication.

AARS: https://advocatingforu.com/

International World Romance Scam Prevention Day: https://protectingheartsday.com/

This podcast is hosted by Ayelet Biger-Levin  who spent the last 15 years building technology to help financial institutions authenticate their customers and identify fraud. She believes that when it comes to scams, the story starts well before the transaction. She has 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. Be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to learn about her additional activities in this space.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/