A UX-led decision to prevent high-risk identity consolidation in a multi-brand platform.
Impact
Illustrative example only. Not a final or production UI.
What is this?
Context
This case evaluates whether enabling users to merge multiple accounts into a single identity could improve user experience and data quality across a multi-brand rewards ecosystem.
Why does it matter?
The Problem
The launch of a unified rewards program introduced system-level challenges, including duplicated identities and increased complexity in account management and data integrity.
How was it solved?
Solution
Evaluated feasibility by exploring a potential account merge experience supported by qualitative and quantitative research, assessing business data management, security, and system risks before development.
What changed?
Impact
Insights uncovered critical security vulnerabilities and potential financial exposure. A UX-led recommendation halted the initiative and averted long-term financial and trust damage.
My role in this case
DECISION PROCESS
Analytics revealed a high volume of users creating accounts with different email addresses across brands prior to the unified rewards launch. In many cases, users reported forgetting which email was associated with an existing account, which frequently led to duplicate registrations.
While account consolidation initially appeared to be a usability improvement, the deeper challenge extended beyond duplication. The challenge raised questions around identity ownership, verification, and risk exposure.
We evaluated whether account consolidation could:
However, these benefits depended heavily on secure identity verification and strict constraints around data rollover.
Before designing flows, we partnered with the Research team to validate:
These insights informed decisions around what data to surface, what safeguards to communicate, and how to maintain user trust during account migration.
Although the experience itself tested well conceptually, further reviews uncovered severe abuse scenarios. Scammers could repeatedly create and merge accounts to exploit promotional rewards, leading to significant financial loss.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
Rather than transferring all available data, we questioned what information truly mattered to users during account migration. We combined user interviews with quantitative research to identify and prioritize the most critical data.
This approach:
Illustrative example only. Not a final or production UI.
While we designed an intuitive experience that allowed users to merge multiple accounts, cross-functional reviews revealed a critical risk — users could repeatedly create and merge new accounts to accumulate promotional rewards. This behavior would be difficult to detect or legally prevent, and could lead to high potential for fraud and long-term financial loss.
When weighing the benefits of improved data quality against the cost of reward abuse, we determined that the financial and security risks significantly outweighed the operational gains. The decision not to proceed resulted in:
Illustrative example only. Not a final or production UI.
IMPACT & RESULT
Risk Visibility
Enabled the product team to reassess product strategy by surfacing identity, security, and fraud risks not visible through analytics alone.
Cost Avoidance
Saved engineering cost and opportunity cost by stopping development before implementation.
Loss Prevention
Averted potential financial loss by identifying abuse scenarios associated with reward abuse before launch.
