Charlie Launches SpeedBump, a Pioneering New Way to Protect Older Americans From Financial Fraud Through a Proprietary Combination of Pauses, Alerts and Real-Time Education
June 24 2024 - 10:30AM
Business Wire
SpeedBump Is Introduced at the Exact Moments
Customers Are Most Vulnerable to Fraud; Ensures They Are Maximally
Educated About Their Money’s Movements & Empowered to Make
Informed Decisions
Research Shows When People Have Knowledge About
a Scam, They Are 80% Less Likely To Engage With It
Charlie, the fintech company on a mission to help older
Americans get the most out of their money and keep it safe,
announced the launch of SpeedBump, a proprietary combination of
pauses, alerts, and real-time education introduced at the exact
moments customers are most vulnerable to fraud.
Research shows that when people are aware of a specific scam,
they are 80% less likely to engage with it, and if they do engage,
they are 40% less likely to lose money or sensitive information. As
financial fraud plagues older Americans, with over $28 billion
stolen from them each year, SpeedBump ensures customers are
maximally aware of the latest information about fraud, so they are
empowered to protect their money during the moments they are most
at risk. SpeedBump is a major step forward in protecting older
Americans from rampant financial abuse.
“The proliferation of AI has created a new frontier of fraud,
where criminals can impersonate financial institutions, businesses,
and even victims’ loved ones via email, text, and voice with just a
few clicks of a button,” said Kevin Nazemi, co-founder and CEO of
Charlie. “AI has unleashed a disturbing new wave of financial fraud
and scams on this population, leaving them more vulnerable than
ever. With billions stolen from older Americans every year and
fraudsters becoming more sophisticated, we believe it is our
responsibility to build impactful technology to empower our
customers to get the most out of their money and keep it safe.
SpeedBump is the next frontier in helping older Americans protect
themselves in this growing war.”
How SpeedBump Works
SpeedBump activates when the following actions take place due to
the acute risk they present:
- Payees: A Charlie customer adds a new payee. Fraud can occur
when a criminal puts pressure on a victim to quickly add them as a
payee to their account to send money, or an unauthorized person
with access to an account adds a new payee, oftentimes themselves,
to move money out.
- Transactions: Transfers over $100 from their Charlie account.
This covers a wide variety of fraud, including caretaker or family
fraud, where a payee is established but the account holder does not
approve of the transfer, among much else.
- Devices: They log into their Charlie account from an unknown
device or a device they have not used in the past 30 days. This
covers hackers using a remote device to break into an account or a
caretaker or service provider accessing multiple devices they may
have access to.
Whenever one of these actions is taken, SpeedBump activates to
empower the customer to determine if they are in the midst of
financial fraud, and if so, take immediate action to stop it.
SpeedBump consists of the following:
- The Pause: When a new payee or device is added, a
six-hour pause is immediately implemented before any money can be
released. Money movement over $100 to established payees gets a
one-hour speedbump. If the customer takes no action, the money
leaves their account at the conclusion of the pause with no further
action required. However, if the activity is fraudulent or
suspicious, the customer has the option to stop it.
- How it stops fraud: Once money leaves a bank account, it
becomes much harder, if not impossible, to recover it. The pause
gives the customer crucial time to either cancel the transaction
themselves in the Charlie app or to seek help from Charlie customer
support.
- Example: Imposter scams - A fraudster posing as the Social
Security Administration contacts a customer to inform them that
their system crashed and that they need the customer’s login
credentials to their Charlie account to confirm their Social
Security is being deposited to their Charlie account. The fraudster
gains access to the customer’s account and moves money out of their
Charlie account to the fraudster’s account. The pause gives the
customer time to stop the transaction.
- Smart Alerts: Customers receive notifications on their
app, via email and text informing them about the pause, and the
reason it was activated, and directs them to contact Charlie
customer support with any questions or concerns to ensure they are
maximally aware of what is happening in their account. In addition,
Charlie customers receive real-time smart alerts for all account
activity, including important things like updated balances, new
device log-ins, new payees, password changes, and address changes,
ensuring they know exactly what happens in their account the moment
it happens.
- How it stops fraud: This informs customers that a recent action
has been taken on their account and allows them to confirm if they
took that action or not.
- Example: Sweepstakes/Lottery scams - A fraudster claiming to be
from Publishers Clearing House contacts a customer over email using
generative AI to inform them they have won money but to receive the
winnings, they need the customer’s bank login details to confirm
the account is active and can receive the funds. The fraudster logs
in to the customer’s account, using a device and IP address outside
of the country, and attempts to transfer money out of their account
to the fraudster’s account. Smart alerts will inform the customers
in real-time what’s happening and give them the time to stop
it.
- Real-Time Education: Customers receive real-time
education about the type of fraud that most often corresponds with
the action they are taking.
- How it stops fraud: Research shows that simply knowing about
fraud helps prevent it from happening. They may not know that the
person urging them to transfer money could be a scammer. This is a
vital step in arming customers with information to make smart
decisions and protect themselves.
- Example: Grandparent fraud - A Charlie customer receives a call
from a scammer using AI to impersonate their granddaughter. They
claim to need money urgently. SpeedBump will inform the customer
about how scammers create a false sense of urgency and to be
careful if they are feeling pressured. They then have a full six
hours to determine it wasn’t her and undo the action.
Taken together, these steps represent an entirely new way to
provide ongoing, meaningful fraud protection and education to older
Americans exactly when they need it most.
SpeedBump Impact
Financial fraud causes extensive and long-lasting harm to
victims, costing them money, financial security, and time, and
creating inconvenience and a devastating emotional impact. Nearly
half of older Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, and over 17
million American adults over 65 are economically insecure. A major
fraud can wipe them out entirely, but minor fraud has negative
impacts as well, often making it hard for victims to pay their
bills on time, afford everyday items like groceries or gas, and can
cause major inconveniences like replacing their cards, their phone
and updating all of their billing information across various
accounts. Fraud victims also report feeling sad and ashamed after
an incident, experiencing loss of confidence, anxiety, and
depression.
Studies show that one of the most common and effective fraudster
tactics is creating artificial urgency that overwhelms victims and
causes them to make rash decisions. However, research shows that
when people are aware of a specific scam, they are 80% less likely
to engage with it, and if they do engage, they are 40% less likely
to lose money or sensitive information.
SpeedBump is designed to counterbalance this urgency by
providing both education and time to breathe to stop financial
fraud before it happens. SpeedBump can help protect against many
types of common scams: romance, pig butchering, phishing,
grandparent, tech support, sweepstakes, account takeovers, along
with many others. SpeedBump empowers customers to learn scammer
tactics, behaviors, and signals to help them keep their money
safe.
SpeedBump is a new feature of FraudShield, a comprehensive,
personalized suite of fraud protection tools built exclusively for
the unique needs of 62+ Americans. FraudShield is entirely free of
charge for all Charlie customers. Please visit
https://www.charlie.com/fraudshield to learn more.
About Charlie
Charlie is the place for older Americans to get the most out of
their money and keep it safe. Charlie uses machine learning
technology and an expert, US-based customer service team to study
older Americans’ unique financial habits, needs, and
vulnerabilities. These insights inform the features and functions
Charlie designs to provide them with financial flexibility and
protection. With faster access to their Social Security check,
groundbreaking fraud protection, competitive earnings on deposits,
no monthly fees or minimums, and intuitive, age-optimized product
design, Charlie customers have the financial peace of mind they
deserve. Banking services provided by Sutton Bank; Members FDIC. To
learn more, visit Charlie.com.
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Julie Halpin Julie@Charlie.com