It is time for F-Factor Authentication

Have you ever had a vulnerable friend or relative come to you after they have fallen victim to a financial scam? It’s frustrating. There is little you can do to help after the event other than get them to contact the police and their bank. To the financial and digital savvy, these scams seem obvious. If only your vulnerable friend checked with you first!

There are some protections in place. The Banking Protocol is a UK-wide scheme where bank branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to a scams and create an intervention. £32m of fraud was stopped in this way in the first half of 2021. Bank branches are closing across the country though so what happens then?

UK banks are also trialling an emergency 159 hotline for customers to call if they think they are being scammed. This is great for those with the mentality to call but I wonder how many vulnerable people will think to call this number whilst they are being scammed, particularly as the nature of these scams work to fluster and confuse an individual.

Friend and Family Factor Authentication

In our digital lives we’re becoming increasingly used to 2FA (Two-factor Authentication). This is where a simple password is not enough to access an account or instigate a transfer —…