Humanizing Fraud Prevention: A Balanced Approach for Better Customer Experience

At Bond we have four promises that we make to our clients: that our solutions are customer-relevant, brand aligned, operationally feasible, and financially incremental. We do this by helping our clients get closer to their customers so they may better understand how to make informed strategies that drive business outcomes and loyalty.

What sets Bond apart is the sum of these promises—it’s that we do not compromise one over the other. All four promises are equally important and part of our holistic approach in driving growth outcomes for our clients. As of late, the issue of fraud has become a greater concern for our clients regardless of whether it’s linked to a traditional loyalty program or not. The ideal outcome is to reduce fraud activity without impacting the customer experience. Many (rightfully so) are turning to technology to help mitigate exposure; however, it can compromise the customer experience.For example, I have the honor of chairing the board for Give a Mile, an organization dedicated to reuniting loved ones during life's most challenging times. I am deeply committed to ensuring that our mission is carried out with compassion and efficiency. We provide free flights to those facing end-of-life situations, helping families come together when it matters most. However, a recent incident with an airline has highlighted a critical issue in our increasingly automated world: the need for a balanced approach to fraud detection and management that incorporates both technology and human insight. Give a Mile relies on the generosity of donors who contribute their airline points to help fulfill our mission. Recently, one of our donors faced an unfortunate situation when the tickets that they provided for a terminally ill woman and her daughter-in-law were canceled at the gate due to suspected fraud. The cancellation was automated, based on a mismatch in names—a common occurrence in travel.

Let me be clear: the need for early fraud prevention and swift resolution is real. The advancement of technology to support in this area has shown tremendous progress to mitigate and address issues as fraudsters continue to innovate. However, this does not mean that technology alone should be how the fraud journey is managed. Automated fraud alerts, while crucial, can sometimes overlook the human nuances behind transactions, leading to negative and (as shown above) distressing experiences for those involved.

This is where we see a vital role for human intervention. The ability to contextualize and empathize is uniquely human (today at least!) and is essential for evaluating situations that data alone cannot fully capture. By integrating human judgment and authentic emotion into the process, we can ensure that security measures do not come at the expense of compassion and understanding.

The trick is identifying when to lead with automation versus with humans. At Bond, we work with clients today to help them understand which moments along their customers’ journeys are the most important to their customers, where their brand is winning, and in which moments their brand is falling behind.

By identifying the most important moments to your customers, you have a better opportunity to identify when and where human interventions are the right investment to make, versus when you can lean on other tools in your box, including your automated solutions.

By helping our clients identify critical moments where human intervention can significantly enhance the customer experience, Bond enables organizations to maintain a high level of security without compromising the ideal customer experience.

However, it doesn’t end there. Say, for example, an automated alert is sent to your customer, as demonstrated above. A human-centered approach would still consider the right method of communicating a message to the customer. Is there urgency? Is there a call-to-action? How might you communicate a potential issue in a way that improves the customers’ experience, versus throwing it completely out of whack? These are all examples of how we approach our work—we ensure that we deliver on our four promises when providing strong outcomes for our clients, even when circumstances are negative in nature.

We help our clients strike the right balance between technological investment and human oversight. This ensures that incidents, such as the one faced by Give a Mile, do not recur—it ensures that generosity and goodwill flourish without being hindered by automated systems that lack contextual understanding.

While the advancement of technology offers numerous benefits, it is essential that we do not lose sight of the human element. By fostering a collaborative approach that combines the strengths of both humans and technology, we can create systems that not only detect fraud effectively, but also preserve the dignity and humanity of those who we serve. At Bond, we are committed to advocating for such a balanced approach.

Ready to strike the perfect balance between technology and human touch in your loyalty program? At Bond, we blend innovation with empathy to ensure your security measures don’t compromise customer experience. Let’s work together to create a loyalty strategy that truly resonates with your customers—email us at info@bondbl.com.