It’s no secret that as banks have become increasingly technology-driven, they have opened themselves to a raft of new risks. Tech scams in particular have grown more sophisticated worldwide, with operational threats coming from professional hackers and everyday actions of clients themselves.
In the U.K., banks have started to take this vulnerability seriously, weaving scam prevention directly into the digital tools their customers already use. Most U.S. banks, however, are still playing catch-up on this threat, unintentionally leaving vulnerability gaps at a time when trust and protection matter more than ever.
A pair of transatlantic cybersecurity experts is working to change all that.
Falkin: Real-Time Tools Against Evolving Scam Threats
When Boaz Valkin and Joel Frisch first met at a Cape Town-based fintech startup more than a decade ago, they couldn’t have fathomed that they would someday battle one of the most pervasive threats to the global banking industry: fraud.
Yet as co-founders of Falkin, a technology platform that arms banks with real-time tools to protect their customers from scams, Valkin and Frisch are concurrently helping guard banks themselves.
“Joel was actually my first boss,” Valkin says. “Now, ten years later, we’re building something together that’s personal and impactful.”
The Birth of Falkin – The Devastating Impact of Phishing
For Valkin, the genesis of Falkin was not just a business insight, it was personal.
“A close family member lost 15 percent of her net wealth in one afternoon to a bank phishing scam,” he recalls. “She was a long-time customer of her bank, a hard-working teacher. When she asked for help, the bank told her she was negligent. They didn’t pay a cent. And what struck me wasn’t just the financial loss—it was how alone she was in it.”
That experience shook Valkin, leading him to a broader realization. “When I zoomed out and talked to people in the U.S., South Africa, and the U.K., it was clear this isn’t just an elderly fraud issue. It’s endemic. A trillion-dollar problem.”
He quickly assessed that traditional fraud outreach from banks—educational newsletters, videos, and webinars directed at consumers—wasn’t working. Valkin saw its reality as a “passive defense” and intuited that “What’s needed is proactive digital financial protection.”
Seamless Scam Protection Within Your Bank’s Platform
Falkin’s solution is a suite of tools that banks can embed directly into their digital platforms—no additional apps for consumers to download, no third-party break in the customer-bank trust chain.
“We’re not asking the customer to go download something new,” says Frisch. “They’re opting in through their bank, where trust already exists and it’s embedded right into the banking experience.”
The platform includes options such as real-time interception of suspicious links, scam reporting, and verification tools embedded into customer support pages or mobile apps. Customers can opt into features as they wish—from scanning emails and texts to reviewing questionable links—giving them control while maintaining security.
“We give banks the tools to let their customers say, ‘I want this monitored,’” Valkin explains. “But it all lives inside the existing bank ecosystem.”
Why Scam Protection Matters Most for Community Banks
Frisch and Valkin are clear: This isn’t just about avoiding fraud losses; it’s about preserving customer relationships, especially for community banks.
“Smaller banks often feel it more,” says Frisch. “When a long-time customer is hit by fraud, they want to help—but the cost might be too much. One scam can spiral into tens of thousands of dollars in operational expenses.”
Beyond that, Frisch adds, there’s reputational and relational damage. “There are studies showing people leave banks after experiencing fraud, especially if they feel unsupported.”
Falkin lets community banks get ahead of those losses.
Imagine, he poses, that a customer gets a suspicious text, like those E-Z Pass scams that routinely flood phones every Monday morning. If the bank intercepts that message before the customer clicks, that’s not just a win for security, it’s also a customer loyalty boost.
“Scam protection works best when it’s collective — when one customer’s insight protects the next. It’s like Waze for banking,” Frisch says. “Scam intelligence gets smarter with every user and every participating institution. One customer’s experience can protect thousands more.”
Generating Bank Revenue Through Proactive Scam Protection
Banks can also monetize Falkin’s features. Some may embed it in premium accounts, especially for high-net-worth or senior clients. Others might fold it into high-interest checking products or offer it as a standalone, opt-in service.
“We’ve heard ideas like attaching it to a senior product with a minimum balance requirement,” Frisch notes. “It adds value while making it easier to justify yield or fees.”
Whether they aim to save operational costs or generate revenue, Frisch argues, the real return is customer retention.
“If a customer feels their bank is standing between them and scammers, that’s powerful. They’ll stay for life.”
Preparing US Banks for the Rise in Scams
Falkin is already live with pilot customers in the U.K., where fraud rates have surged. “Last year, nine million people in the U.K. were affected by scams,” says Frisch. “It’s a glimpse into what’s coming to the U.S., and we want to help banks here get ahead of it.”
The company is based in London, but Frisch lives in Philadelphia, positioning Falkin for a dual-market presence. The team is currently in discovery sessions with U.S. design partners and expects community bank integrations to begin by Q3 2025.
“The technology’s here,” Valkin says. “But we’re still shaping it with feedback from banks to make it truly seamless.”
Falkin: A Strategic Imperative for Banks in the Fight Against Sophisticated Scams
Falkin represents more than a fraud defense mechanism—it’s a strategic tool for banks, particularly community institutions, to build trust, loyalty, and resilience in an age of increasingly sophisticated scams.
“Fraud isn’t just a security issue,” says Frisch. “It’s a human issue. Falkin gives banks a way to show up for their customers in the moments that matter most.”
