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Hope or hazard? Generative AI takes center stage for Fraud Week 2023

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As anti-fraud pros and organizations across industries unite around International Fraud Awareness Week, Nov. 12-18, SAS examines how the rise of generative AI will impact the global fraud landscape

CARY, N.C., Nov. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — As the sun rises on another International Fraud Awareness Week, Nov. 12-18, 2023, it shines on a world perhaps more fraud conscious than at any time in history. A recent consumer fraud study, based on a survey of 13,500 adults by AI and analytics leader SAS, revealed that:

Seven in 10 people have fallen victim to fraud at least once; 40% reported suffering fraud twice or more.A vast majority (86%) are more wary of fraud now compared to previously.Three-quarters are fearful of experiencing future fraud.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8827856-sas-international-fraud-awareness-week/ 

“Even as consumers signal increased fraud vigilance, generative AI and deepfake technology are helping fraudsters hone their lucrative craft,” said Stu Bradley, Senior Vice President of Risk, Fraud and Compliance at SAS. “Phishing messages are becoming more polished. Replica websites look stunningly like the ones they mean to imitate. It takes just $5 and a few seconds of audio to clone someone’s voice with readily available online tools.”

Turning the tide on fraudsters: ways to engage
With stakes so high, SAS is again joining forces with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and more than 1,000 supporting organizations around one goal: to curb fraud and its financial and social harms by driving anti-fraud awareness and education. Seize these complimentary opportunities to become more fraud savvy with SAS throughout Fraud Week:

SAS webinar: The Fraud Arms Race: How Governments and Fraudsters are Battling for Advantage. Tuesday, Nov. 14, 8:30 a.m. ET (and later on demand). Join public sector experts from SAS to explore how fraudsters are using generative AI and other innovations to exploit and plunder – and discover the latest countermeasures governments worldwide are using to stop them.Live Twitter/X chat: What’s Next? Fraud & AML Trends for 2024 (and Beyond). Thursday, Nov. 16, 9 a.m. ET. Will generative AI live up to the hype? How will today’s prevailing digital fraud trends influence the anti-fraud tools and strategies used in sectors like banking, government, health care and insurance? Join SAS’ Stu Bradley and other cross-industry fraud experts on Twitter/X for a lively #SASchat.ACFE webinar: Fighting Financial Crime in the Generative AI Age. Friday, Nov. 17, 11 a.m. ET. Open for the first time to ACFE members and nonmembers alike, the ACFE will align experts from SAS, Datos Insights and Unconventional Ventures to examine the threats posed by generative AI’s explosive growth – and how organizations can mitigate them. Nonmember participation is limited to the live broadcast (register here); the webinar will be available on demand to ACFE members starting Dec. 7.

Supporters can also lend their voices on social media to share fraud fighting tips and resources from SAS. Follow #FraudWeek on Twitter/X for real-world expertise and discussions on a variety of fraud topics, including global fraud trends, the impacts of generative AI (good and bad), digital and payments fraud, identity crime, claims fraud, tax compliance, social program integrity, health care fraud and cost containment, and more.

“Anti-fraud professionals can’t afford to ignore the scams and frauds coming to the fore in these challenging economic times – nor can the organizations that employ them afford to disregard the public’s changing expectations around fraud protection,” said ACFE President John Gill. “Keeping up with anti-fraud innovation will be critical across industries as fraudsters take advantage of generative AI and other emerging technologies.”

SAS’ research showed how important fraud protection has become to consumers. “Consider that nine in 10 consumers think organizations should be doing more to safeguard them from fraud, and that two-thirds said they would change service providers due to a fraud experience or for better fraud protection,” Bradley said. “These proof points – and the real-world gains achieved by SAS customers – underscore the tremendous potential of businesses’ anti-fraud investments to help them grow and flourish.”

Using AI to stop financial fraud in real time
Beyond serving as Italy’s national postal service, Poste Italiane is among the country’s leading financial institutions, providing banking, insurance and even telecommunications services to 35 million customers. Protecting the 11 million customers who interact with Poste Italiane each day from fraud, abuse and improper payments is a foremost priority for the 160-year-old institution. That’s why the company uses advanced analytics and AI from SAS to detect fraud more precisely.

“Machine learning techniques provide that layer of intelligence that allows us to identify risk situations, analyze them very quickly and intervene when necessary,” said Raffaele Panico, Head of Fraud Management and Security Intelligence at Poste Italiane. “We have reduced false positives by 40% and increased our ability to handle anomalies by more than 20%.”

On the e-money side, Panico reported that Poste Italiane’s fraud ratio dropped by 50% in just three months after the launch of the anti-fraud service. “This is an astonishing figure, especially when we consider that in the last two years fraud has increased by 90% worldwide,” said Panico.

Improving claims fraud detection with predictive analytics and real-time decisioning
Since 2016, HDI Seguros has collaborated with SAS to combat evolving fraud risks and improve the customer experience. Using SAS solutions, the Brazilian insurer has transformed its existing anti-fraud system in recent years with new predictive modeling and decisioning tools to better identify and mitigate shifting fraud threats in real time.

These ongoing anti-fraud modernizations have helped HDI reduce false positives while improving its fraud detection rates. The insurer reported a 43% increase in the number of frauds identified from 2021 to 2022.

“SAS brought technology that helped us analyze external and internal data for greater accuracy,” said Leandro Bordon, Director of Operations and Claims at HDI Seguros. “We are able to look at the relationship network of fraudsters and customers with more intelligence, as it involves the complex interconnection of several elements, such as location, contacts, credit score, damages reported in the claim and other information.”

Enhancing anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud surveillance capabilities
By deploying SAS® Anti-Money Laundering on cloud-native AI platform SAS® Viya®, Treezor enhanced its AML and fraud surveillance capabilities. The European Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) leader, based in Paris, operates in 25 countries, serving more than 100 fintech and large business customers. It has processed more than EUR€58 billion in transactions and issued more than 4.6 million payment cards.

Treezor deployed SAS Viya for monitoring transaction compliance, facilitating systematic coverage of anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and fraud risks. All teams, from compliance managers to analysts, collaborate on the platform, benefiting from prioritized alerts, robust case management capabilities and audit trail precision.

“Treezor plays a pivotal role in AML/CFT vigilance by reinforcing its monitoring capabilities, offering security to its customers and their end customers,” said Adin Buhks, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Treezor. “We are the first BaaS player to partner with SAS, who helped us implement a state-of-the-art solution in a tight time frame. Our AML analysts quickly adapted to the new solution, and the network capabilities are a game changer.”

Fighting tax evasion in freight transport
The Department of Economy of the State of Goiás in Brazil adopted SAS technology – SAS® Enterprise Guide® and SAS Visual Analytics on SAS Viya – to combat tax evasion in freight transport. The initiative uses monitoring and AI technologies to cross-check tax data in real time. Optical character recognition (OCR)-equipped antennas throughout the state’s highways enable the department to track roughly 30,000 cargo trucks daily.

Within a month of deployment, the system generated 300 alerts of possible tax inconsistencies each day. By better identifying irregularities – e.g., forged invoices, missing electronic manifests mandated for freight transport vehicles, and cargo exceeding declared quantity – the department increased fines by 54% compared to the same month last year.

“This project has greatly changed the department’s operational efficiency, bringing benefits to society and increased transparency for the department,” said Giovana Amorim Zanato, Manager of Prospecting and Auditing for the Department of Economy of the State of Goiás. “We combined SAS technology with other technologies to prevent tax evasion and created something innovative to serve as an example for other states’ departments.”

About SAS
SAS is a global leader in AI and analytics software, including industry-specific solutions. SAS helps organizations transform data into trusted decisions faster by providing knowledge in the moments that matter. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2023 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

Editorial Contact:
Danielle Bates
danielle.bates@sas.com  
919-531-1959
sas.com/news

 

 

 

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SOURCE SAS Institute

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Suunto Launches Race 3S: Next-Generation Performance Watch in a Compact Titanium Case

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Suunto’s next-generation performance watch brings up to 38 hours of dual-band GPS battery, a 2,000-nit AMOLED display, and free worldwide offline maps in a 56 g build, debuting alongside Suunto’s new AI Coach.

VANTAA, Finland, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Suunto launches Suunto Race 3S, a new-generation flagship performance watch. Built for smarter training, with features designed especially for trail running, Race 3S brings together up to 38 hours of dual-band GPS battery, a 2,000-nit AMOLED display, and a full set of intelligent trail tools at just 56 g. It is a watch built to go further and move lighter, so a long day in the mountains stays simple.

First launched in 2023, the Race series established Suunto’s position as the choice for athletes who train with intention and perform when it counts. Suunto Race 3S carries that standard into a compact 46 mm case sized to sit well on smaller wrists, and holds on to long-lasting battery life, a flagship display, and the complete trail toolkit alongside it.

“People have more performance data at their fingertips than ever, but turning all that information into something useful can be a challenge,” said Daniel Das Bhowmik, VP Product at Suunto. “We built Race 3S to carry long-lasting battery life in a case compact and light enough to forget, and we’re launching it alongside Suunto AI Coach to make things simple again: turning questions and personal data into clear, actionable answers.”

Battery for the Long Haul

No runner should plan a race around a battery bar. Suunto Race 3S gives them room to plan the race instead: up to 38 hours in dual-band GPS mode (up to 32 hours with the always-on display on), compared with up to 30 hours on Race S, with full positioning accuracy switched on the entire time. Additional battery modes reach further still, including a smartwatch mode with up to 12 days of battery life for everyday wear.

For runners used to planning a session around what the watch has left, that is up to eight more hours of pacing, navigation, and heart rate on the wrist than Race S. Training runs finish the way they were planned, races carry data all the way to the line, and the charger stays at home.

A Compact Build With Flagship Performance

The best watch on a long climb is the one a runner stops noticing. At 56 g with the silicone strap, 38 g for the watch head alone, Suunto’s Race 3S sits close to the wrist at roughly the weight of two energy gels, with a compact fit that works well for smaller wrists, too. A titanium bezel and sapphire crystal lens handle rock, scrub, and repeated impact.

Inside, the new-generation Apollo 510 processor drives faster response across maps and menus, and an upgraded optical heart rate module with six LEDs and four photodetectors behind 2.5D curved sensor glass holds accuracy through arm swing, sweat, and cold. Pair a Suunto heart rate belt to enable ZoneSense and it reads true intensity straight from the body’s response.

Suunto AI Coach Debuts With Race 3S

Race 3S marks the debut of Suunto AI Coach, an AI-powered conversational coaching experience in the Suunto app. It turns your Suunto data into insight, guidance and action, helping you understand your data, know where you stand and decide what to do next.

Ask Suunto AI Coach anything about your training, and it answers clearly and in context, with guidance and visuals such as charts, tables and maps, plus next steps whenever you want them. When you want to act, it creates structured workouts, training plans and routes; workouts and routes can then be saved in the Suunto app and synced to your watch. Customers who purchase and pair Suunto Race 3S can get three months of Suunto AI Coach free by activating their watch through the Suunto app by 31 December 2026.

Precision in Every Terrain, Free Maps Worldwide

When the trail disappears under canopy or into a canyon, the line on the wrist stays put. Positioning offers better overall performance, notable through forests, canyon walls, and switchbacks. Free worldwide offline maps now add contour lines and place names for an instant read on where you stand. They download straight to the watch and run entirely on board, subscription-free, so the terrain travels with the runner wherever the trail goes.

A Race Strategy Set Before the Gun

The hardest racing decisions arrive when a runner is least equipped to make them. Suunto Race 3S makes them early instead. Climb Guidance shows what the trail does next, climb or descent, updated in real time, so effort can be placed in advance: know a descent is coming, and save the legs for the climb after it.

Race Planner will build a personalized pacing plan from the route, the weather, and a runner’s race goal, with real-time guidance to hold pace on race day.*

A Display You Can Read in Full Sun

Mid-race data only counts if it can be read mid-stride. The 1.32-inch LTPS Hybrid AMOLED reaches 2,000 nits, more than three times the brightness of Race S, at 466 × 466 resolution. In midday glare above the treeline or on a 4 a.m. start in the dark, pace, distance, and the next turn stay readable at a glance.

Everything You Run With, on One Wrist

64 GB of onboard storage holds maps, routes, training data, and offline music.** It offers over 100 sport modes, including running, cycling, swimming, gym work, and multisport. Race 3S is available in three colorways: Orchid, Feather, and Black.

*Race Planner is planned for launch via a future Suunto app and firmware update. Features, availability, and timing are subject to change. Please refer to the latest official information from Suunto.

**Available via an over-the-air software update following product launch. Availability timing is subject to official announcement.

Read more about Suunto AI Coach at https://us.suunto.com/pages/suunto-ai-coach

Availability:
EMEA: October 15th
CHINA: October 15th
NAM: October 29th
APAC: October 29th

Race 3S will be sold through Suunto’s direct-to-consumer channels and authorized outdoor and running retail partners across North America, Europe, and key Asia-Pacific markets.

Pricing: EUR 499 / USD 599

Colors: Purple, Grey, Black

Images for media use: https://media.suunto.com/pub/collection/7d1b229aace5399e4c0c117efcaf1bdf?locale=en

About Suunto

Suunto is a Finnish brand, established in 1936. It was founded by Finnish inventor Tuomas Vohlonen, who pioneered a new standard for navigational precision. That same year, his innovation – a field compass – was stronger, steadier, and more accurate than any other handheld navigational tool of its time. It was the first of many Suunto products built to withstand the harsh conditions of our native Finland.

In the near century since, Tuomas’s spirit of innovation has continued to chart Suunto’s course. From some of history’s first dive computers and high-altitude wrist altimeters to today’s GPS watches, Suunto remains a trusted companion for outdoor adventurers across the globe.

Supporting explorers, athletes, and weekend warriors alike remains our core mission – providing the tools to dive deeper, climb higher, and push the limits of human potential.

www.suunto.com

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SOURCE Suunto

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/R E P E A T — Media Advisory – Minister Hodgson to hold media callback following his visit to the United Kingdom/

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OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 20, 2026 /CNW/ — The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, will hold a callback with Canadian media to discuss the outcomes of his visit to London, U.K., for London Metals Exchange (LME) Week on October 19 and 20, 2026.

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Time: 1 p.m. EDT

All accredited media are asked to pre-register for the callback by emailing media@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca. Details on how to participate will be provided upon registration.

Follow Natural Resources Canada on LinkedIn

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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S4 Capital’s Monks Accelerates Regional Growth Strategy in EMEA and APAC Expanding Nirvik Singh’s Remit to APAC, Names Ash Smith Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific and Fay Denis du Peage Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand

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LONDON, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Monks, the purely digital, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc, today announced an evolution of its regional leadership across EMEA and Asia-Pacific. As global brands demand more agile, connected and AI-enabled marketing models, Monks is expanding its integrated Marketing and Technology Services footprint to help multinational clients operate at speed and scale across both regions.

Positioned as a change agent for modern enterprise brands, Monks unifies three core capabilities—Intelligence, Creation and Orchestration—through its flagship Monks.Flow platform to build brands as living systems. Across Asia Pacific, this evolution allows Monks to deliver end-to-end marketing transformation, helps clients accelerate media performance, eliminate operational silos and orchestrate intelligent marketing that turns real-time data into measurable business impact.

To lead this next chapter, Monks has expanded the leadership remit of Nirvik Singh to lead both EMEA and Asia Pacific, reporting to Bruno Lambertini, CEO of Marketing Services. Working alongside Nirvik, Ash Smith joins Monks as Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, effective 13 November 2026. Fay Denis du Peage has been appointed Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately.

Nirvik recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director from the S4 Capital Board to join Monks as CEO of Marketing Services, EMEA. In the new expansion of his role to APAC, he will integrate oversight for Marketing Services across both regions, recognizing the connected growth opportunities and delivering greater value and scale for clients.

Nirvik brings more than 35 years of experience in the industry, most recently as Global Chief Operating Officer and President International at Grey Group. Nirvik has spent decades running multi-region businesses and partnering with enterprise brands including Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, Volvo and Haleon to navigate complex market dynamics and deliver commercial impact.

Reporting to Nirvik, Ash Smith will focus on accelerating regional business growth, strengthening client partnerships and scaling Monks’ product and solutions capabilities across Asia Pacific. Ash brings more than 18 years of experience across Australia, Europe, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, spanning product development, client solutions, innovation and business leadership. Throughout his career, he has focused on combining human intelligence, data and technology to create value for brands, translating local and regional market insights into innovative solutions and business growth.

Prior to joining Monks, Ash served as Chief Product and Solutions Officer for JAPAC at Tag, a Dentsu company, where he led the talent, products and technology needed to address complex client challenges, including driving Tag’s AI and innovation agenda. Previously, as Managing Director for Southeast Asia, he built strategic client partnerships and developed integrated, scalable solutions by bringing together expertise from across the network, delivering strong business growth.

Over his career, Ash has worked with leading global brands across technology, CPG, luxury and automotive, building long-term partnerships and delivering solutions that drive real-world impact. He has also shared his perspectives at industry forums, most recently NRF and ATS.

“We are excited to welcome Ash to our leadership team in Asia Pacific as we continue to scale our integrated offering and deepen our partnerships with clients across the region. His experience spanning client leadership, product, solutions and innovation will be valuable as we bring together creative, media, production, data and technology to deliver greater agility, efficiency and real-time relevance for brands. As we continue to advance our unitary model and the capabilities enabled by Monks.Flow, Ash will play an important role in translating our regional ambitions into meaningful outcomes for our clients and our business,” said Nirvik Singh, CEO, Monks EMEA and APAC.

Ash joins Monks as the company continues to evolve its integrated Marketing and Technology Services offering, bringing together creativity, media intelligence, production, data, and technology to help brands compete in an increasingly complex and fast-moving market. Through Monks.Flow, its flagship AI ecosystem for marketing orchestration, Monks is connecting insights, creativity, and execution to enable real-time relevance and turn marketing into a growth engine. Ash’s experience in product and solutions leadership, AI innovation and integrated client partnerships will support the continued development and deployment of these capabilities across Asia Pacific.

“The best agencies don’t just make work, they solve problems. When people and technology come together in the right systems, we can move faster, think bigger and unlock growth for brands in ways that weren’t possible before. That means bringing media, creative, production and data to the table as one team, not a set of silos. Our job is to put clients at the centre of everything we do and help them win through new ideas and experiences,” said Ash Smith, incoming EVP, Monks Asia Pacific.

Based in Sydney, Fay Denis du Peage will report to Ash Smith and lead Monks’ growth and market development across Australia and New Zealand. She will focus on strengthening the local offering, deepening client partnerships and bringing together Monks’ capabilities across creative, media, data and technology.

Fay brings experience across media, data, digital and operations from her career at Monks and MightyHive. She steps into the role after serving as Senior Vice President, Media, APAC, where she has helped strengthen Monks’ regional media proposition and drive greater integration across data, technology and media.

“AUNZ is a sophisticated and fast-moving market, and there is a significant opportunity for Monks to bring more of our capabilities together around the challenges our clients are facing, empowering them to become Real-Time Brands. The future of marketing isn’t about one discipline working in isolation—it’s about connecting media, creativity, data and technology with AI to create better outcomes in real time. My focus will be on making that capability even more relevant and accessible to clients, while building on the strength of our local teams and partnerships. I’m excited about what we are about to create together in the market,” said Fay Denis du Peage, Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Monks.

“Nirvik and Ash bring complementary leadership experience and a strong understanding of what clients need in an increasingly complex and fast-changing market. With Nirvik’s expanded regional leadership and Ash’s expertise in client solutions, product, and innovation, we are strengthening our ability to drive growth, connect capabilities, and deliver greater value for clients across our markets. Fay’s appointment is an important step in strengthening our presence across AUNZ, with Australia as our largest APAC market. I would also like to thank Kenny Griffiths for his leadership and the valuable contributions he has made to Monks,” said Bruno Lambertini, CEO, Marketing Services, Monks.

Media Inquiry

Evelyn Hsu
VP, Marketing and Communications, APAC
Evelyn.hsu@monks.com

About Monks

Monks is the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to redefine how brands interact with the world. Through Monks.Flow, its flagship AI ecosystem for marketing orchestration, Monks transforms marketing into a growth engine, collapsing timelines and connecting brands to culture in real time. By deploying bespoke intelligent agents across disciplines and delivering culturally relevant, high-impact creative and digital solutions, Monks solves key critical business challenges across the entire brand enterprise to help brands sustain long-term impact.

Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services and a leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Global Digital Marketing Agencies. It ranks among Cannes Lions’ Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-25) and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek’s first AI Agency of the Year (2023) and The One Show’s inaugural AI Pioneer Organization (2025), Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group’s 2026 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in the Human-Machine Interaction Team category. Additionally, Monks.Flow earned AI-based Marketing Solution of the Year at the 2026 AI Breakthrough Awards and a 2026 Global Generative AI Award in the Agentic Marketing Innovation category. Finally, Monks achieved a record-breaking number of FWAs and continues to hold the most of any partner.

About S4 Capital

S4 Capital is a purely digital advertising and marketing services business built for global, multinational, regional and local clients, as well as millennial-driven influencer brands. The business operates through two data- and digital-media-driven practices: Marketing Services and Technology Services, emphasising ‘faster, better and more efficient’ execution in an always-on, consumer-led environment. Its unitary structure positions the Company as a systems integration partner delivering real-time relevance in the post-agency era.

The Company has approximately 6,200 people in 34 countries, with approximately 82% of net revenue across the Americas, 12% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 6% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. Marketing Services accounted for approximately 91% of net revenue and Technology Services 9%. The target allocation is a practice split of 75%:25%.

Sir Martin Sorrell was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million ‘shell’ company in 1985 into the world’s largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that, Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

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