There is a growing number of examples of fraudsters using social media to extract personal information from customers. A recent case hit the Bank of Melbourne, when fraudsters sent direct messages with a link aiming to harvest users' Twitter credentials (Finextra Sept 16 2011). 

One of the problems for the security industry is that on social media many people instinctively drop their guard, giving fraudsters the opportunity to take advantage of their trust. When people happily “friend” others whom they’ve never met, this isn’t going to stop, although education and awareness needs to play a vital role, but perhaps the concern is misplaced. The real issue is not whether fraudsters can get hold of personal information – they can and will – but whether they can use it afterwards.

The problem with so much financial security is the lack of any meaningful defence in the face of a determined fraudster. We should be moving towards a situation in which even when a fraudster has access to personal information, it will be of no help to him in the absence of the individual.

Privacy sensitive Proximity Correlation and Voice biometrics (Who/Where, where not) are elements within a multi-factor layered authentication model that can play a vital role here, as a reliable method of identity assurance that fraudsters can’t replicate. The individual doesn’t need any special equipment – effectively just by speaking he or she authenticates him/herself via the mobile phone.

At a time when European governments are actively evaluating the use of privacy sensitive voice biometrics and context awareness (jurisdictional validation via proximity correlation) as cost effective alternatives to traditional administrative intensive methods, the financial services industry can leverage such initiatives to foster innovation and significantly enhance identity assurance capability in countering fraud.