What The Fraud?

Latest Episodes:

Scaling Trust in Crypto — Insights from Consensus Miami May 20, 2026

Show notes

In Part 1 of our What the Fraud? special from Consensus Miami 2026, we explore how crypto is moving beyond early adoption and into mainstream finance. From regulation and compliance to payments and user growth, the conversation focuses on what it takes to scale digital assets safely in the real world.

Direct from the Sumsub booth at Consensus Miami, Anastasia Shvechkova, Sales Director Americas at Sumsub, speaks with experts from across the ecosystem about the challenges shaping the next phase of digital finance, from compliance and payments to trust, scale, and user adoption.

Our guests include:

Lei Lei (VP of Business Development and Strategy, Kite) on building crypto-native products and driving real-world utility
Mayur Gupta (Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Kraken) on scaling adoption and bringing more users into crypto markets
Larry Wade (Global Head of Crypto Compliance and Regulatory Relations, PayPal) on how global payment platforms are navigating regulation while integrating crypto

Across the conversation, a different set of challenges emerges: not just how to build crypto systems, but how to grow them responsibly. From user onboarding and product-market fit to compliance frameworks and regulatory engagement, the focus is on what it takes to move from early infrastructure to widespread adoption.

Because once the rails are built, the real question becomes: who will actually use them, and how safely?

Links:

Sumsub's Website: sumsub.com
Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub
Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom
Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom
Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom
Anastasia Shvechkova on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anastasia-shvechkova-878344118
Lei Lei on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lei-lei-90720a
Mayur Gupta on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mayurgupta77
Larry Wade on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larryswadejr

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Fraud at the World Cup: When Volume Turns into Vulnerability May 06, 2026

Show notes

“What happens when the world’s biggest sporting event becomes the perfect environment for fraud to scale?”

World Cup Betting KYC: https://sumsub.link/21f

The World Cup isn’t just a global celebration of football, it’s one of the largest betting events on the planet. And where volume, velocity, and global participation collide, fraud doesn’t just appear… it accelerates.

Our guest this week is Ludovico Calvi, Honorary President of ULIS, United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports. With decades of experience across betting operations and international integrity networks, Ludovico shares how fraud evolves before, during, and beyond major tournaments like the World Cup.

From multi-accounting and bonus abuse to AI-driven synthetic identities and coordinated betting syndicates, this conversation explores how fraud has become structured, automated, and global. We look at why major events create the perfect conditions for these systems to thrive, how fragmented markets introduce hidden vulnerabilities, and why no single operator can see the full picture alone. We also dive into the growing role of real-time data sharing, cross-border collaboration, and integrity “war rooms”, and what it takes for betting companies to balance rapid growth with resilient defences.

Because in a world where billions are watching and betting… fraud isn’t just playing the game. It’s playing the system.

Sumsub's Website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Ludovico Calvi on LinkedIn: https://it.linkedin.com/in/ludovico-calvi-033a5927

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Gaming the System: The Rise of First Party Fraud Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

“What happens when the fraudster isn’t a stranger… but your own customer?”

Fraud Prevention Course: https://sumsub.link/2qi

Businesses spend millions verifying identities, onboarding users, and preventing external attacks. But one of the fastest-growing threats now comes from inside the perimeter: legitimate customers exploiting refunds, disputes, chargebacks, subscriptions, and reimbursement systems for personal gain.

Our special guest this week is Richard Bromley, Head of Fraud and Disputes Risk at Monzo Bank. Drawing on years of experience at the sharp end of fraud prevention, Richard explains why first party fraud has become one of the most misunderstood and underestimated risks facing banks, fintechs, merchants, and payment providers today.

From false scam claims and refund abuse to subscription traps, social media “hacks,” and organized criminal groups exploiting reimbursement schemes, this conversation explores how customer fraud is evolving from opportunistic behaviour into a scalable criminal model.

We also examine why the term “friendly fraud” is dangerously misleading, how businesses can distinguish genuine victims from dishonest claimants, and why behavioural signals, machine learning, investigator expertise, and cross-industry collaboration are now essential to staying ahead.

Sumsub's Website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Richard Bromley on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-bromley-ica-dip-fcp-4b559a4a/

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When Systems Become the Target: The New Era of Fraud Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

“Fraud is no longer about convincing a human… it’s about feeding a system.”

Fraud is evolving fast. No longer limited to fake documents or stolen identities, today’s attackers are targeting the very infrastructure designed to stop them, exploiting workflows, reverse engineering systems, and operating at machine speed.

In this episode, we explore how fraud has shifted from human deception to system manipulation, and why traditional defences are struggling to keep up.

Our special guest this week is Maikel Ninaber, Head of Risk and Resilience for EMEA at Mastercard. Drawing on his experience breaking into systems as an ethical hacker and now defending them at scale, he shares how modern fraud attacks are designed, tested, and deployed.

From camera injection attacks and emulator farms to AI-driven fraud and reverse-engineered onboarding flows, this conversation reveals how criminal operations are becoming more structured, automated, and scalable. We also explore why layered defences, real-time detection, and cross-industry collaboration are critical, and what it takes for organizations to stay resilient in a world where fraud moves at machine speed.

Sumsub's Website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Maikel Ninaber on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maikelninaber/

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Know Your Agent: The New Frontier of Fraud Prevention Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

"What happens when an attacker gains control of your AI agent and the outside world believes everything it does... is you?"

AI agents are already booking travel, managing calendars, and handling day-to-day tasks for millions of people. But as they gain access to our accounts, finances, and personal data, a new question emerges: how do you tell a legitimate agent from a hijacked one?

Our guest this week is Mick Amelishko, AI advocate and Senior Engineering Manager at Sumsub, who lives at the intersection of AI development and fraud risk every single day. Mick breaks down what AI agents actually are, why they're so powerful, and why that power makes them an increasingly attractive target for bad actors.

From compromised personal assistants and prompt injection attacks to the emerging concept of Know Your Agent (KYA), this conversation explores what happens when automation becomes indistinguishable from real user behaviour. We look at how fraudsters can weaponise agent access to drain accounts, impersonate users, and cause damage across multiple platforms, and what businesses and individuals can do about it.

Sumsub's Website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Mick Amelishko on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amelishko

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Synthetic Identities: When Data Becomes a Persona Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

“What happens when a fraudster doesn’t steal an identity… but builds one from scratch?”

Synthetic identities are one of the fastest-growing threats in financial crime. Built from fragments of real and fabricated data, these identities can pass onboarding checks, behave like legitimate users for months or even years, and then suddenly “bust out”, leaving businesses with significant losses.

Our special guest this week is Steve Lenderman. Drawing on decades of experience investigating fraud, Steve shares how synthetic identities are created, how they evolve over time, and why this threat has grown from a credit-card problem into a global issue affecting fintech, payroll, government programs, and beyond.

From bot-generated identities and AI-assisted fraud to sleeper accounts, bust-out schemes, and synthetic businesses, this conversation explores how organized crime groups and even nation-state actors are scaling these attacks. We also look at why collaboration between industries is critical, how behavioural and device intelligence can reveal hidden patterns, and what companies can do to detect synthetic identities before the damage is done.

Mentioned in this episode – how Device Intelligence detects synthetic identities early: https://sumsub.link/ykm

Sumsub’s Website: sumsub.com

Sumsub’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub’s Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub’s YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Steve Lenderman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-lenderman

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iGaming Fraud Insights – ICE Barcelona Part 2 Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Fraud in iGaming is shaping how operators grow, how regulators respond, and where investors place bets. Recorded live at ICE Barcelona in partnership with the C-Suite Podcast, this is Part 2 of our special What The Fraud? series on the widening global fraud landscape in iGaming.

Kris Galloway, iGaming Product Evangelist at Sumsub, took over hosting duties and he was joined by:

Daniel Xavier, COO, BetMGM Brazil
Andrew Wright, Managing Director UK & Ireland, LeoVegas Group
Adrianna Samuels, Vice President - Senior Client Partner | Gaming, Globant
Torben Friis, Manging Director - Global Head of Distribution, Match Liquidity

They cover the tension between player acquisition and fraud prevention, the ongoing challenge of unlicensed operators, Brazil’s evolving regulatory framework, why fraud risk is increasingly part of financial due diligence and investment decisions, and how major events like this year’s World Cup can open up new fraud angles for sportsbooks. From bonus abuse and multi-accounting to AI-driven threats, the episode maps how the risk environment is shifting for operators worldwide.

Sumsub's website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

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iGaming Fraud Insights – ICE Barcelona Part 1 Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Unlicensed operators and AI-enabled fraud are scaling faster than most safeguards. Regulators, operators, and tech providers are being forced to rethink what “player protection” actually means, and how to enforce it across borders. This is Part 1 of 2 special episodes of the What The Fraud? podcast, recorded live at ICE Barcelona.

Guest host Kris Galloway, iGaming Product Evangelist speaks with Olabimpe Akingba, Head of Responsible Gaming at pawaTech, Ludovico Calvi, Honorary Presidentof United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports, and Sarah Gardner, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at UK Gambling Commission, about where the market is breaking: responsible gaming that goes beyond box-ticking, industrialised fraud networks, underage exposure risks, and the uncomfortable reality that no single stakeholder can solve this alone.

They dig into what actually moves the needle: better use of data, clearer player education, and tighter cooperation between regulators, operators, technology providers, and law enforcement. The takeaway is simple: safe, sustainable gaming will be decided by how well the industry can coordinate enforcement and prevention across jurisdictions, not by adding more isolated controls.

Sumsub's website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

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An Ex-Fraudster's Guide to Staying Safe Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

"We can't possibly think of victims as being stupid." We often think of fraud victims as gullible or careless. But what if the real story is about ruthless targeting by increasingly sophisticated criminals? What if AI, deepfakes and quantum computing are making it impossible to tell what's real anymore?

Our guest in this episode is Alex Wood, counter fraud expert, international keynote speaker, part of the BBC Radio 4 Scam Secrets team and, in a former life, a prolific fraudster who spent 20 years defrauding victims of millions before serving three prison sentences and turning his life around. Alex joins host Thomas Taraniuk to discuss the sophistication shift, where fraud attempts are dropping but success rates are climbing, powered by AI that makes attacks more targeted and devastating.

From his former life recruiting English women as callers for organised crime networks to his current work advising the Home Office on Hawala money laundering networks funding small boat crossings, this episode reveals the insider perspective businesses need to hear. Alex explains why prison was a breeding ground for fraud conspiracies rather than a deterrent, how ChatGPT would have made him ten times more prolific and harder to catch, and why the fake Duke of Marlborough scam worked for seven months simply because luxury hotels refused to share data with competitors.

Whether you're protecting your business or trying to spot the red flags in your own life, this conversation offers crucial insights into the criminal mind, the collaboration gaps that fraudsters exploit, and why the next frontier might be quantum computing breaking military grade encryption in minutes rather than months.

Sumsub's website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Alex Wood on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/beatfraud/

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Inside Sumsub's 2025 Identity Fraud Report Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

"Last year, only one in 10 fraud attempts were sophisticated enough to fool modern verification systems. This year, that number's nearly tripled. Amateur fraudsters are out and professionals who know exactly how to beat our defences are in."

The fraud landscape is undergoing a complete transformation. Whilst overall fraud attempts have dropped by 50%, the attacks that do occur are nearly three times more sophisticated than last year. We're witnessing the rise of coordinated, AI-powered professional operations that combine multiple attack vectors simultaneously.

Our guest is Artem Popov, Technical Product Manager for Fraud Prevention Solution at Sumsub, who joins host Thomas Taraniuk to discuss findings from Sumsub's annual Identity Fraud Report, analysing over 4 million fraud attempts globally.

From AI-generated synthetic identities and deepfakes fooling liveness checks to telemetry tampering that attacks verification systems themselves, this episode exposes sophisticated techniques targeting industries worldwide. Artem explains how ID cards account for 72% of fraudulent documents, why Kenya now sees deepfakes in 10% of fraud attempts, and how romance scams combine emotional manipulation with synthetic identities. This conversation offers crucial insights into the multi-layered defences needed to stay ahead of professional fraud networks investing real money, time, and talent into beating your systems.

Sumsub's website: sumsub.com

Sumsub's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/sumsub

Sumsub's Instagram: instagram.com/sumsubcom

Sumsub on X: x.com/Sumsubcom

Sumsub's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@sumsubcom

Thomas Taraniuk on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomtaraniuk

Artem Popov on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/system29a/

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