TELUS Digital is a leading global technology company that crafts enduring customer experiences in the moments that matter. As experts in digital, AI and voice-tech innovation, solutions span Data & AI Services, Digital Strategy & Consulting, Customer Experience Management, including CCaaS, and Trust & Safety, including Content Moderation and Fraud Prevention. One of the key offerings is Fuel iX™, a proprietary GenAI engine that helps enterprises scale GenAI solutions quickly, securely, and responsibly. Founded in 2005, TELUS Digital is guided by Humanity-in-the-Loop principles, delivering impactful customer experiences while fostering inclusive communities.
The Challenge
TELUS Digital’s AI Data Solutions empower businesses with clean, unbiased, and reliable training data for building cutting-edge Generative AI (GenAI) solutions. To ensure this standard, verifying the expertise of their contributors is critical. However, as crowdsourcing for AI training has become more widespread, the company faced increasing risks from highly organized threat actors leveraging advanced technology. This necessitated a robust, adaptable fraud prevention framework to safeguard operations and meet diverse customer needs.
Previously, TELUS Digital relied on fragmented verification workflows involving other verification providers, which presented several inefficiencies:
- Previous vendors’ inability to reliably identify forgeries led to manual review by the internal team in 100% of cases.
- The absence of workflow automation led to inefficiencies in managing a high volume of applications.
- Evolving requirements, such as multi-tiered verification checks (e.g., OTP and standalone liveness), underscored the limitations of existing solutions.
To address these challenges, TELUS Digital required a new solution that met the following criteria:
- Partnership: A collaborative vendor willing to actively listen, provide feedback, and continuously improve to align with TELUS Digital’s values and requirements.
- Technical and Customer Support: A partner offering always-on support, capable of responding quickly to emerging threats.
- Flexibility: The ability to scale and adapt to TELUS Digital’s evolving business needs.
- Robust Technology & Automation: A solution capable of mitigating advanced threats like deepfakes and integrating automated workflows to streamline processes.
- Transparency: Clear decision-making processes without reliance on opaque “black-box” methodologies.
Why Sumsub?
TELUS Digital chose Sumsub due to its flexible and robust platform, which addressed current needs while offering scalability for future requirements.
Steve Jablonski
Vice President of Information Security at TELUS Digital
The platform’s workflow functionality provided a flexible framework that addressed our current needs while instilling confidence that it could adapt to future requirements. Sumsub’s customizable checks with bespoke rules and ongoing monitoring allowed us to manage costs effectively, tailoring checks to the specific risks while meeting legal requirements across different jurisdictions.
Key features that stood out to TELUS Digital included:
- Code-Free Workflow: Enabled non-technical teams to scale operations efficiently without extensive development resources.
- Advanced Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Provided granular access control, allowing multiple teams to collaborate securely while maintaining strict permissions for sensitive data.
- Level Customization: Allowed TELUS Digital to tailor verification processes based on regional risks, ensuring compliance and cost efficiency.
- Mature API Capabilities: Facilitated seamless integration with TELUS Digital’s IPASS tool, enabling the development of a custom connector to automate workflows and streamline operations.
The primary goal of implementing Sumsub was to reduce the need for expert intervention during onboarding suspected fraud cases, which is a key measure of the system’s effectiveness in fraud prevention. Secondary objectives included minimizing manual effort across verification processes and consolidating all verification checks within a single platform to enhance operational efficiency.
Sumsub’s solutions aligned perfectly with TELUS Digital’s goals, offering the scalability, security, and automation required to support their growth and evolving fraud prevention needs.
The Solution
TELUS Digital’s verification process with Sumsub is designed to handle the high volume of applicants processed by their AI Data Solutions, using a hybrid, multi-level approach. Applicants undergo tailored checks at each stage of the sourcing process, ensuring resources are focused where they are most needed.
The process begins with simpler checks early in the workflow to screen applicants efficiently. Successful candidates then move through more advanced stages, including ID Verification, Liveness, AML Screening with Ongoing Monitoring, Email and Phone Risk Assessment, and IP Address Analysis with Risk Assessment. Workflows are managed seamlessly via TELUS Digital’s IPASS tool, with Sumsub’s APIs providing automation and integration support.
Additionally, TELUS Digital’s process includes the following Sumsub’s features:
- Custom rules allow the team to tailor workflows to specific operational needs.
- Workflows with multiple branches enable streamlined applicant progression through multiple verification stages.
- APIs for automation integrate with existing systems, reducing manual effort.
- Duplicate checks prevent redundancy.
- Custom search for AML strengthens compliance efforts by targeting specific regional and legal requirements.
Implementation
Chris Morris
Director of Engineering at TELUS Digital
Sumsub’s product design and transparency made it easy for us to drive the adoption of the solution. Our end users had previously experienced numerous negative interactions with another vendor, which initially posed a significant challenge. However, by quickly onboarding and demonstrating tangible results, we were able to turn user sentiment around and build their confidence in the solution.
TELUS Digital experienced a smooth and efficient onboarding process with Sumsub, supported by a dedicated team that provided practical guidance tailored to their organizational needs.
The company uses all three primary integration methods Sumsub offers: Direct Link, API, and SDK.
The initial onboarding phase, including knowledge sharing and foundational setup, was completed within 3 weeks. After this phase, TELUS Digital engaged in an ongoing process of refining workflows to optimize operational efficiency with the help of a dedicated manager from Sumsub’s team.
The Results
Since integrating Sumsub, TELUS Digital has achieved all key success metrics, driving significant improvements in efficiency and compliance:
- A marked reduction in payouts to suspected bad actors suspended during production.
- Consolidating compliance checks within a single platform results in substantial cost and time savings.
- Enhanced capabilities with the recent onboarding of Sumsub’s KYB product further streamline business operations.
Beyond these measurable results, Sumsub has improved confidence within the operations team, enabling them to trust the automated workflows. This trust has led to a significant decrease in cases requiring manual review, allowing the team to focus on strategic priorities.
Chris Morris
Director of Engineering at TELUS Digital
The knowledge gained from implementing Sumsub’s KYC in our AI business has allowed us to quickly support other areas of the organization when urgent situations arise, demonstrating agility and cross-functional value.
Future Plans
TELUS Digital recently onboarded Sumsub’s Business Verification product and is exploring opportunities to enhance its fraud prevention strategies with additional tools, such as Fraud Networks and Transaction Monitoring.
Steve Jablonski
Vice President of Information Security at TELUS Digital
Sumsub has demonstrated a strong willingness to listen to our needs, actively evolve their solution, and respond to feedback by implementing improvements quickly. We look forward to continuing and strengthening this collaborative relationship in the future.