How AMP Bank GO's Financial Crime Investigator helps combat scammers and fraud every day

Summary

We sat down with Zoe, a Fraud and Financial Crime Investigator at AMP Bank GO, to learn how she and her team are combatting scams, scammers, identity theft, fraud and more. Using state-of-the-art security technology throughout the onboarding process, such as video selfies to assess IDs and determine fake or genuine, here's how AMP Bank GO is helping to keep you and your money safe. 

‘Financial Crime Investigator’ is a very cool job title. When you meet new people at a party, how do you explain what you do at AMP Bank GO? 

It can be hard to explain because I think it's quite a broad topic. It ranges from stopping bad actors from setting up fraudulent accounts to fund proceeds of crime, to investigating into money laundering activities, to supporting customers who have fallen victim to scams. We’re consistently acting on intelligence every day to stop fraudsters and help our customers detect scams.  

What does an average day look like for you? 

My job is to look at a customer and their account and spot if something’s out of place that may not be consistent with the customer’s profile and might suggest financial crime. An example of this during the onboarding process is, if the person doesn’t look like their ID in their application, then that’s a red flag for us to investigate further as it could be identity theft.

What is the most unconvincing ID you’ve ever had to assess?  

The worst one we saw was someone just basically printed out a driver's licence. They also printed out a photo of the person they were trying to pretend to be and put that on a paddle-pop stick and held it in front of the camera like it was a real person in the onboarding selfie video.

As AI becomes more prominent, how is AMP Bank GO combatting threats that utilise AI, like deep fakes? 

When customers have to film their onboarding video, they have to say a unique phrase, which pops up on their screen. We’ve had applications submitted that use AI videos where you can see the AI replica’s face moving, but they don't say the unique phrase, so we can tell it’s a fraudulent application. 

When you say ‘verifying IDs’, what does that mean? How do you ensure the person opening the account is the person they say they are?  

We do checks on the ID to make sure it's a real ID. We’ll put it through a system to do a first check on the ID and then we compare to make sure that the person on the ID is the same person on the onboarding video.  We also verify address, email addresses and employment information as well, so that we know what to expect from the account activity.  

There’s a belief that all this extra security means it takes longer to open an account than it used to. But with applications all done online, do you think this is actually true? 

It's definitely quicker than it was previously. I think with AMP Bank GO the application process might take a little bit longer than other banks, but that’s mostly because our security checks are front-loaded, which means more checks at the start of the onboarding process, and less later on, because you've been verified at the point of application. 

Saying that, it doesn't actually take that long. The application can be done in just a few minutes. It’s usually quite quick. 

Why do people try to create bank accounts with fake IDs? What are they hoping to achieve once they’re in? 

Scammers want bank accounts with fake IDs because they could do all this dodgy stuff, and we just wouldn’t know who is doing it. We could report them, but who are we reporting? We have no idea because they've given us fake information. They can do things like open up lines of credit in other people's names without them knowing, ruining those real people's credit scores. That’s why our verification process is so robust.

There’s a perception that cyber criminals sit in centres overseas, or in their parent’s basement. Where are the threats actually coming from? 

I don't think it's any one particular place, and I think that perception does make people more vulnerable because they think it's going to be this big elaborate scam and, actually, it's not. It's everyday people that could be scamming you. It could be anyone, really. You have to be quite careful these days. 

What advice would give to us, as individuals, to stay safe from scammers and fraud? 

I think you just need to be really vigilant. If something's too good to be true, it probably is. And, obviously, never share your password. 

When shopping online, I'll double check the URL to make sure that it's not a fake website, because this is something that is so prevalent with scammers as well.  

Some scams can be more elaborate. This is when it’s helpful to talk to a family member, because you might think, ‘Oh, I've got this really good investment,’ and they're like, ‘That doesn't sound real.’  Or it could be a dating scam that you just need an outside perspective on. 

Tips for the perfect selfie video?

A lot of people will take their selfie video looking down into their lap – but we can’t see your face. So, like with any good selfie, it’s all about angles and lighting. 

For more tips on staying scam safe, check out our security hub here.

If you believe your AMP account has been compromised, alert us immediately.  My AMP banking customers please call 13 30 30. AMP Bank GO customers please call 1800 950 105 (+61 2 5135 1930 for overseas). You can also send us a message 24/7 via the AMP Bank GO app.