Welcome! Glad you're here.

We’re thrilled to kick off the very first edition of Fraud in Focus. We talk to a lot of fraud fighters, track a lot of trends, and see things changing a bit before everyone else. Instead of doom-scrolling LinkedIn for updates, we’ll bring it straight to your inbox in a weekly newsletter. Think of this as a collection of buzzy news, hot conversations, and fun stories tailored to the tastes of fraud fighters. Here's what to expect:

• Unhinged Interesting takes on top fraud stories
  Whether it's the latest scam popping up on social media or fraudsters getting a little too cozy with new tools and tactics, we’ve got the scoop to help you stay sharp and take action.
• Tools created for fraud fighters, by fraud fighters
  We know you’re out there fighting the good fight every day - oftentimes scraping together improvised solutions and processes to make it all work. We've been there too. Where we find fraud fighters using clever tools and tactics we’ll share them your way. We know that you’ve got to get the job done, no matter what.
• An easy way to keep the conversation going
  This newsletter is just the start! Have questions, comments, or suggestions? Is this thing even on? Contact us anytime.

If you've read this far, we might just be on to something good together! Keep reading, then meet us back here next week for more.

NATE'S TAKE

Top Three This Week

1. The Social Media Money Glitch - Influencers Got Clicks, Everyone Else Loses
2. Machines Building Machines: DarkGPT is Configuring Bots Now
3. If Fraudsters Flee Telegram, Do We Know Where They’re Headed?

1. The Social Media Money Glitch - Influencers Got Clicks, Everyone Else Loses

Earlier this month, a viral trend exploded on TikTok and YouTube where users showed themselves depositing fake checks and then immediately being able to withdraw funds. While this may be mind-blowing to social media, this kind of check-fraud (and the underlying risk models that decide if a depositor can immediately access check funds) are as old as the ATM.

So, there’s no free lunch. A bunch of accounts are going to get closed and young people are going to get prosecuted. Also, banking operations folks at Chase (and beyond) are going to put in thousands of hours unwinding this. It’s an outcome that sucks for pretty much everyone except the social media accounts that racked up likes and followers for publicizing this “glitch.”

Here’s where to pay attention: If something worked on social media once, it’s going to happen again. Take inventory of where you’re relying on low volumes to make your mitigations make sense; the next viral glitch or life hack could have you waking up to the review queue from hell.

2. Machines Building Machines: DarkGPT is Configuring Bots Now

DarkGPT and other jailbroken variants of ChatGPT have been available for nearly a year. The latest version is well-trained on how to configure bot tools like OpenBullet and troubleshoot how to update their botting operation to defeat a specific website’s defenses. Basically, this means a teenage dabbler now has the (virtual) support of an AI cybersecurity expert to help them bypass your defenses. This comes at a tough time - bot-enabled attacks like Loyalty Abuse, ATO, and Card Testing are easier than ever while Visa ramps up the enforcement on card testing and major breaches have the darkweb positively drowning in stolen consumer info. This “machines building machines” trend isn’t going to end well for humans - we’ve got a solve if you’ve got a problem.

3. If Fraudsters Flee Telegram, Do We Know Where They’re Headed?

Telegram’s CEO was arrested by French law enforcement recently. Leaving the geopolitical implications aside, this has fraudster communities on Telegram considering abandoning the platform for other private chat rooms. Whether that is Discord, Signal, or old-school chat rooms, we’re all keeping an eye on it. More worryingly - a lot of fraud tools either rely directly or indirectly on reconnaissance in these groups. There’s potential for impact if these products have to fundamentally build new attacker surveillance product in order to stay accurate if members of these groups flee to the four corners of the internet.

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