Footprint: AI, Biometrics, and the Battle Against Identity Theft with Eli Wachs

Jun 10, 2025

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In this episode of Company Breakdowns, host Lorenzo Bartolini and Footprint Co-founder and CEO Eli Wachs discuss the complex landscape of digital identity verification and fraud prevention. Wachs explains how his company addresses the growing sophistication of identity fraud through "portable identity" infrastructure, enabling secure user onboarding for financial services.

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod

LINKS:

Footprint: https://www.onefootprint.com/

@lozo_the_bozo (Lorenzo)

@EliWachs (Eli)

@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

42 million US adults were victims of identity fraud in 2023 - that's 1 in 5 people, with $30-50 billion lost annually
AI is exponentially worsening fraud by enabling sophisticated synthetic identities and deepfakes
Most current identity verification is fundamentally flawed - companies blindly send data through APIs without observing user behavior
Footprint's "portable identity" approach treats fraud as a math problem: instead of finding every fraudster, detect when two people claim the same identity
Former Macau mafia now operates sophisticated fraud networks from the Laos-Myanmar-Thai border, targeting Americans through "pig farming" operations
The identity verification market is worth $700 million with room for multiple public companies
Synthetic identity fraud accounts for 20% of credit losses at some lenders and is the fastest-growing fraud type
Fraudsters have significant advantages: no red tape, no bureaucracy, and fraud is their full-time job
Early customers won't question your trustworthiness - they believe in your vision so deeply they don't think to ask
Contrarian startup advice: win on price early, be willing to act as a "dev shop" for large customers, and measure success by customer testimonials
The Power Broker hiring rule: automatically hire any frontend engineer who has read the 1,600-page book about urban planner Robert Moses
Network effects will determine winners - first company to 150 million portable identities gains major advantage
"If you live in America, your identity's been leaked" - focus should be on detection and mitigation, not prevention
Best identity protection remains surprisingly analog: passkeys, two-factor authentication, and verification through trusted channels