THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

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What The Fraud? by Sumsub

Entered in Branded Podcast

Objective

“What The Fraud?” was created to combat the surge of digital fraud threatening businesses of all sizes. 

Identity fraud can seem abstract until you experience it firsthand. A stark example is a Hong Kong-based firm that lost over US$25 million after employees fell for a deepfake video impersonating their CFO. According to Deloitte, synthetic identity fraud alone may reach US$23 billion in losses by 2030. Addressing these urgent issues is exactly why “What The Fraud?” exists: to highlight digital fraud risks and reveal effective defenses.

Beyond exposing fraud, the podcast aims to foster education, industry collaboration, and a proactive stance against sophisticated attacks. Each episode explains cybercrime tactics, empowering audiences to recognize and prevent fraud in their daily operations.

Ultimately, “What The Fraud?” serves as a hub for professionals seeking the latest, evidence-based knowledge on digital fraud. We aim to transform today’s fragmented approach into a united effort against evolving cyber threats, creating a safer digital environment for businesses and customers worldwide. 

Strategy

Launching “What The Fraud?” was our response to the rapidly evolving world of digital fraud. We set out to create a platform that is profoundly informative yet easy for anyone to understand. By bringing together experts from AI, fintech, crypto, iGaming, and more, host Thomas Taraniuk guides listeners and viewers through real-world fraud cases, emerging threats, and forward-looking prevention methods, offering actionable insights that protect both companies and consumers.

Season 1 laid the groundwork by addressing foundational fraud concepts and core challenges businesses face across various industries. We covered AI-driven scams, the basics of fintech, crypto, and iGaming fraud, culminating with insights into the psychology of a fraudster.

With Season 2, we introduced a video component alongside the audio format, giving viewers a more interactive experience and putting real faces to the discussions. This season, we delved deeper into real fraud cases and highlighted actionable measures, relevant regulations, and tips for businesses and consumers to combat fraud. Looking ahead, we plan to continue addressing new schemes and ensuring our audience remains equipped with the latest countermeasures.

A crucial pillar of the show is the expertise we bring on board. Finding guests with both deep knowledge and a willingness to speak publicly was challenging, given the confidentiality requirements many professionals face. To overcome this, we established clear guidelines on what information could be shared, reinforcing that the podcast is a safe space for best practices and insights rather than proprietary details. This approach built trust and allowed us to feature globally recognized specialists:

and many more.

To maximize accessibility, “What The Fraud?” is offered in audio and, from Season 2 onward, in video formats. We host each episode on all podcast platforms and share it on a dedicated landing page, publish transcripts on our blog, “The Sumsuber,” and share highlights across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X. This multi-channel approach helps us reach both fraud prevention professionals and everyday consumers.

Results

The results achieved by “What The Fraud?” far exceeded our team’s objectives, solidifying the podcast’s success as an authoritative resource in the digital fraud prevention space. Shortly after its launch, “What The Fraud?” experienced a significant rise in chart rankings, reaching #1 in "US: Technology" and #35 in "US: All Podcasts.” 

Over the course of two seasons and with only 16 episodes, ‘What The Fraud?’ generated over 90,000 downloads and 45,500 YouTube views, demonstrating a high level of engagement across both audio and video formats. Additionally, our audience spans 150+ countries, highlighting the global relevance of fraud prevention and the expansive reach of our platform.

Our podcast’s social media strategy was instrumental in amplifying its success. By sharing episode highlights and key takeaways across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X, we significantly expanded our reach (for instance, over 336K total views of snippets on Instagram) and deepened engagement (avg ER of WTF? posts on LinkedIn - 8.9%). This multi-channel approach allowed us to connect with diverse audience segments, driving awareness of critical fraud prevention topics and establishing “What The Fraud?” as a trusted voice in the industry.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Sumsub

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