Episodios
-
Whatâs up fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward:
Yâall, this episode is one of those conversations where I found myself taking notes while we were recording. Matt Janiga from Modern Treasury joined me to talk about hidden fraud infrastructure.
We talk all the time about faster payments, one API, better vendor tooling, AI agents, global money movement, and payment modernization. But underneath all of that is a much more complicated reality. There are payment rails, reversibility rules, KYC requirements, digital fingerprints, transaction monitoring decisions, consortium data, fraud operations workflows, and infrastructure choices that determine what fraud teams can actually see and stop.
And here is the thing: fraud does not live in silos, and neither does the infrastructure that moves money.
Matt has worked across regulation, fintech infrastructure, compliance, payments, and risk, with experience touching Dodd-Frank, Square, Stripe, Lithic, and now Modern Treasury. So this conversation gives us a really practical look at how the industry moved from the pre-vendor world, where teams were basically building fraud and compliance tools from scratch, into a world where specialized partners, orchestration layers, and agentic AI are changing what fraud teams can do.
For my credit union and community bank folks especially, this matters because you do not have to build everything alone anymore. A rising tide lifts all boats, and the more we understand the hidden fraud infrastructure behind modern payments, the better we can ask questions, pressure test controls, and protect the people we serve.
What youâll hear in this episode:How Dodd-Frank and post-crisis regulation helped shape the fintech ecosystem we know todayWhy banks stepping away from certain customer needs opened the door for fintech growthWhat the pre-vendor world looked like for fraud and compliance teams building tools from scratchWhy fraud vendor infrastructure, orchestration layers, and fraud consortium data changed the way teams manage riskWhat fraud teams miss when they hear âone APIâ and assume payment infrastructure is simpleHow payment rail reversibility, ACH fraud, Reg E fraud, and tokenized credentials create hidden operational riskWhy global USD accounts and global money movement require strong digital fingerprinting and risk-based controlsHow agentic AI fraud tools may reshape investigations, fraud operations, and human review over the next five yearsWhy the âfront doorâ is one of the most important places to invest when building a fraud program
You should listen to this episode if you:Work in fraud operations, payments, fintech, banking, risk, or complianceWant to better understand the hidden fraud infrastructure behind modern payments infrastructureAre evaluating fraud tooling, fraud vendor infrastructure, or payment orchestration partnersNeed a clearer view of payment rail reversibility, ACH reversibility, Reg E fraud, or global money movement riskAre thinking about agentic AI fraud, AI fraud agents, digital fingerprinting, and where humans should remain in the loop
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward.
In this episode, I am sitting down with Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the criminal investigations group for the United States Postal Inspection Service, to talk about something I think way too many fraud teams overlook: USPIS financial crime.
When financial crime escalates, most of us immediately think FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security, or local law enforcement. And listen, those partners matter. But the Postal Inspection Service is one of the most powerful investigative partners in financial crime investigations, especially when mail theft, check fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, money laundering, or organized fraud networks are part of the picture.
This conversation is about more than stolen mail or missing packages. It is about how physical infrastructure still connects to modern financial institution fraud, how fraud teams can build stronger law enforcement partnerships, and why collaboration has to happen before the big case hits your desk.
Because behind every fraud case is a real person. A member. A customer. A family. A business. Someone whose trust, dignity, and financial stability may have been shaken in a way they will never forget.
And we, fraud fighters, have a responsibility to do something about that.
What youâll hear in this episode:A practical breakdown of how USPIS financial crime investigations workWhy the United States Postal Inspection Service matters to banks, credit unions, fintechs, and payments companiesHow mail theft connects to check fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, bank fraud, and money launderingWhy physical mail still matters, even in a digital fraud environmentHow organized fraud networks use stolen mail, altered checks, social media, and other channels to scale financial crimeWhat makes a strong fraud referral to law enforcementWhy relationship building matters before major fraud investigations happenHow IAFCI and other industry networks help financial crime investigators connect the dotsWhy criminals are using social media, Telegram, and other platforms to organize fraud activityHow AI and agentic AI are changing the future of financial crime investigationsWhy human oversight still matters when we use technology to fight fraud
Who should listen:Fraud fighters at banks and credit unionsCommunity bank and credit union leadersBSA, AML, fraud, and compliance teamsFintech and payments risk teamsFinancial crime investigatorsFrontline teams who see suspicious activity before anyone else doesLaw enforcement partners working fraud investigations and financial crime casesRisk leaders trying to improve referral and escalation processesAnyone responsible for fraud prevention, investigation, intelligence sharing, or victim supportThis episode is for the teams who are trying to protect people in the middle of a fraud landscape that is moving fast.
-
¿Faltan episodios?
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward.
I recorded this live from Safeguardâs AI Deep Dive Retreat at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, and yâall, let me tell you something: this was not just another room full of AI buzzwords. This was fraud leaders, payment experts, financial institution professionals, fintech voices, marketplace operators, and risk leaders all sitting in the same place asking one very real question.
What happens to fraud prevention when artificial intelligence changes everything?
The future of AI fraud is not some far-off thing we are all fixinâ to deal with later. It is already here. We are seeing AI change the speed, scale, and complexity of fraud operations right now. We are seeing it show up in synthetic identity fraud, AI scams, AI identity verification, agentic AI fraud, fraud detection automation, governance conversations, and the pressure fraud teams are already carrying every single day.
But this episode is not about panic.
It is about realism.
It is about what fraud fighters are seeing, what institutions are building, where the gaps still are, and how we keep humans at the center while fraud keeps accelerating around us.
What youâll hear in this episode:A practical conversation about the future of AI fraud and what it means for fraud operationsHow AI fraud prevention is changing across banking, credit unions, fintech, payments, marketplaces, and risk teamsWhy synthetic identity fraud, AI scams, and identity fraud prevention are becoming major areas of concernHow AI in fraud prevention can help investigators analyze data, identify patterns, and reduce noiseWhy AI governance in fraud prevention cannot be treated as something we clean up laterHow agentic AI fraud, know your agent, and KYA fraud prevention are becoming part of the next conversationWhy human-in-the-loop fraud detection still matters, even when fraud analyst AI tools are getting betterHow fraud fighters and AI can work together without replacing the people who know this work bestA reminder that responsible AI risk management has to include governance, empathy, collaboration, and practical controls
Who should listen:Financial institution leaders and fraud professionalsRisk, compliance, and cybersecurity teamsFraud operations teams and investigatorsCredit union and community bank leadersBanking fraud prevention teamsCredit union fraud prevention teamsFintech, payments, and marketplace risk teamsBSA, AML, KYC, and identity teamsRegulators and policy advisorsIndustry advocates and victim support professionalsMedia professionals covering scams, fraud, AI, and financial crimeAnyone trying to understand how AI-driven fraud affects real people, real institutions, and real fraud teamsThis conversation is for the fraud fighters who are not just trying to check a compliance box. It is for the teams trying to protect members, customers, and communities while also figuring out how to use AI-powered fraud prevention without creating new risk.
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
This conversation is one I think a lot of us need right now.
Financial services are moving fast. Fintech innovations, AI in financial services, real-time payments, embedded finance, digital assets, and payment systems modernization are all changing how institutions serve members and customers.
And let me just assure you, fraud fighters are not anti-innovation.
We are not the department of no. We are the people who know what happens when fintech innovation moves faster than controls, when fintech compliance is treated like a checklist, and when fraud risk management gets discussed only after something has already gone wrong.
In this episode, I sit down with Nyla Cortes to talk through what fintech innovations really mean for credit unions, community banks, fraud teams, BSA officers, compliance leaders, and frontline staff trying to protect people in real time.
Because behind every fraud case is a customer. A member. A family. Someone whose trust, dignity, and financial stability may be permanently affected.
That is why this conversation matters.
What youâll hear in this episode:A practical look at how fintech innovations are changing fraud risk inside financial institutionsWhy modernization creates opportunity, but also expands the attack surfaceWhat AI governance in financial services needs to look like before something goes wrongHow AI in financial services can support fraud prevention strategies when governance is built inWhy real-time payments require real-time fraud operationsHow fintech partnerships and third-party risk management can introduce hidden exposureWhy fintech risk management has to include fraud, compliance, BSA, AML, operations, and frontline teamsWhat community bank fintech adoption looks like when resources are already stretchedWhy operational readiness matters before losses show up on a reportHow we can support fintech fraud prevention without forgetting the people impacted by crimeThis is not a political conversation. It is not a vendor pitch. It is a practical, honest conversation about what it takes to modernize responsibly.
Who should listen:This episode is for the fraud fighters doing the work every day.
Fraud directors and fraud analystsBSA and AML officersRisk and compliance leadersCommunity bank and credit union teamsFrontline tellers and member service representativesVendor risk and fintech partnership teamsCybersecurity and payments professionalsRegulators and policy advisorsAnyone trying to balance fintech innovation, fraud prevention strategies, consumer protection, and operational realityIf you are sitting inside a smaller institution thinking, âHoly moly, we are being asked to move faster, but we do not have the same resources as the big banks,â I want you to hear me.
You are not behind because you are doing something wrong. You are operating in an environment where fintech innovations are accelerating faster than the resources available to manage the risk.
And that means we have to get very intentional.
Show Notes:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/integrating-financial-technology-innovation-into-regulatory-frameworks/https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-integrates-financial-technology-innovation-into-regulatory-frameworks/https://www.sardine.ai/whitepapers/the-agentic-ai-oversight-framework
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
I want to take a moment and talk about something bigger than one scam trend, one crypto headline, or one fraud typology. We are talking about fraud as infrastructure.
Because what we are seeing right now is not isolated activity. Organized fraud networks are operating like coordinated systems, connecting pig butchering scams, social engineering scams, mule accounts, crypto money laundering, fraud and AML gaps, and national security and financial crime concerns.
And yâall, this matters because behind every case is a real person. Someoneâs retirement. Someoneâs trust. Someoneâs financial stability. Someone who was manipulated by a criminal network long before the money ever moved.
What youâll hear in this episode:Why fraud as infrastructure changes how we need to think about financial crimeHow organized fraud networks are using scam infrastructure, mule accounts, and crypto money launderingWhy pig butchering scams and social engineering scams are not simple one-off casesWhere financial institutions are making progress in fraud prevention and scam preventionWhy fraud investigations need stronger collaboration across fraud, AML, cybercrime, and law enforcementHow public-private partnerships can help close the gaps criminals are exploitingWhat fraud fighters can take back to their teams as organized fraud becomes more connected
Who should listen:Financial institution leaders and fraud professionalsRisk, compliance, fraud and AML, and cybersecurity teamsBSA officers and fraud investigatorsRegulators and policy advisorsPublic-private partnership leadersVictim support and advocacy professionalsAnyone trying to understand how organized fraud impacts real peopleFraud does not live in silos, and neither should our solutions.
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
I wanted to do something different for our 100th episode. I didnât want a victory lap. I wanted an honest conversation about payment fraud prevention, where our systems feel fragile, and whether we are building financial infrastructure worthy of public trust.
I brought together Karisse Hendrick, Becky Reed, David Maimon, and Jeff Taylor to talk about what fraud fighters are seeing across banking, payments, e-commerce, digital assets, and fraud research. Fraud is moving fast. Payments are moving faster. AI fraud detection and AI fraud prevention are becoming more important every day. Institutions are trying to balance innovation, regulation, speed, and protection all at once.
This conversation is not just about payment fraud detection or payment risk management. Behind every account takeover fraud event, business email compromise attack, wire fraud case, ACH fraud prevention gap, or social engineering fraud scheme is a real person, a real business, and a real loss of trust.
What youâll hear in this episode:How faster payments are changing real-time payment fraud preventionWhy payment fraud detection must move beyond isolated incidentsHow AI fraud prevention, AI fraud detection, behavioral biometrics, and device intelligence are changing fraud strategyWhy business email compromise, check fraud, wire fraud prevention, ACH fraud prevention, and account takeover fraud remain major concernsHow digital payment fraud is evolving across banks, merchants, marketplaces, and digital asset railsWhy social engineering fraud continues to exploit trust, emotion, and human behaviorWhat collaboration, fraud education, and payment risk management need to look like moving forward
Who should listen:Fraud fighters across banking, fintech, payments, and e-commerceFinancial institution leaders and fraud professionalsRisk, compliance, cybersecurity, and payment operations teamsTeams focused on real-time payment fraud preventionProfessionals working on ACH fraud prevention, wire fraud prevention, and account takeover fraudLeaders evaluating AI fraud prevention, behavioral biometrics, device intelligence, and fraud orchestrationAnyone who cares about protecting trust in financial services
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
In part one, you heard fraud fighters describe the current state of fraud with words like acceleration, chaos, fractured, and explosive. And honestly, none of those felt exaggerated. But in this episode, I wanted to ask a different question. Not just what fraud feels like right now, but what teams are doing that they are actually proud of.
And that is where the conversation shifted.
Instead of only hearing about pressure and burnout, I started hearing about collaboration, communication, empathy, innovation, and people who are trying to figure this out together in real time. That is what stood out to me most at Fraud Fight Club this year. Not just the tools. Not just the AI in fraud prevention conversations. Not even just the tactics. The people.
This episode is really about the future of fraud operations. And if there is one thing that came through loud and clear, it is this: we cannot fight this alone anymore.
What youâll hear in this episode:Why fraud prevention in banking is becoming more collaborativeHow fraud and AML collaboration is helping teams see more of the full pictureWhy 314(b) information sharing matters in todayâs fraud environmentHow fraud prevention strategy is shifting from reactive detection to proactive preventionWhy human-centered fraud prevention and empathy in fraud investigations still matterHow fraud prevention technology and fraud analytics are changing the way teams workWhat fraud prevention professionals are doing right now to build stronger networks
You should listen to this episode if:You work in banking fraud detection or fraud risk managementYou are trying to improve fraud decisioning inside your institutionYou care about real-time fraud prevention and operational responseYou want to understand where credit union fraud prevention is headingYou believe collaboration is no longer optional in fraud operationsIf you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
-
Whatâs up fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
I asked a room full of fraud professionals one question: describe the current state of fraud in one word.
And the answers? Acceleration. Chaos. Explosive. Scary. Unmanageable.
No one said stable. No one said under control.
So in this episode, Iâm breaking down what those answers tell us about evolving fraud trends, the current fraud landscape, and the pressure fraud teams are feeling across banking, financial services, and every channel where fraud is moving faster than our systems were built to handle.
This isnât just about the latest fraud trends. This is about fraud attack evolution, AI-driven fraud attacks, organized fraud trends, and the operational reality of trying to protect real people in real time.
What you will hear in this episode:A structured breakdown of evolving fraud trends from fraud professionals on the front linesA look at the latest fraud trends shaping banking, payments, and financial servicesInsight into how AI-driven fraud attacks and automation are accelerating scam operationsDiscussion of cross-channel fraud trends, from impersonation scams to social engineering fraud trendsA focused look at fraud operations trends and why teams feel more reactive than proactivePractical fraud prevention strategy insights for adapting to faster, more coordinated attacksA call for stronger collaboration, benchmarking, and shared intelligence across the fraud ecosystemThis is one of those episodes where we move from what fraud feels like to what we actually need to do about it.
Who should listen:Financial institution leaders and fraud professionalsRisk, compliance, and cybersecurity teamsFraud operations, payments, and product leadersBanking and credit union teams tracking fraud trends in financial servicesIndustry advocates and fraud community membersAnyone trying to understand modern fraud trends and how fast they are changingIf youâre in this space and youâve felt that pressure, this episode is for you. Because weâre all dealing with it.
Links:
FI Benchmarking Survey Link: https://form.typeform.com/to/WqJf9uqb
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
Before I was sitting in fraud strategy conversations, before I was talking about controls, governance, and layered defenses, before any of this, I was on the teller line. Face-to-face with members. Balancing speed, service, and that gut feeling when something just didnât sit right. And Iâm telling you right now, that experience shaped everything I understand about teller fraud prevention today.
Because hereâs the reality we donât talk about enough. Weâre building smarter systems. Weâre investing in AI. Weâre moving toward real-time monitoring and faster payments. And fraud is still scaling right alongside it. The latest IC3 report made that very clear. The numbers are growing. The losses are growing. And if weâre being honest, part of the problem is that weâre underestimating one of the most powerful fraud prevention tools we already have, our frontline.
This episode is about resetting that perspective. Itâs about recognizing that fraud isnât just happening in data. Itâs happening in behavior. In hesitation. In subtle shifts that no system can fully capture yet. And that is exactly where teller fraud prevention becomes critical.
Here is what that frontline-first fraud prevention mindset means in practice:¡ Recognizing that behavioral signals are often the earliest fraud indicators
¡ Treating frontline staff as active participants in fraud risk management
¡ Bridging the gap between transaction data and real-world interaction
¡ Building fraud prevention strategy around human insight, not just automation
What youâll hear in this episode:¡ Why teller fraud prevention is one of the most underutilized controls in banking
¡ How frontline fraud detection captures signals that systems miss
¡ A real-world scenario showing how behavioral fraud detection plays out
¡ Why fraud prevention in banking must include human interaction layers
¡ How financial institution fraud controls fail without frontline input
You should listen to this episode if you:¡ Work in fraud risk management and want stronger frontline fraud detection
¡ Are building a fraud prevention strategy in banking and need better alignment
¡ Oversee teller teams or call centers and want to improve fraud awareness
¡ Have seen fraud slip through despite strong systems and controls
¡ Want to understand how human fraud detection signals impact real outcomes
If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
This Fraud Fight Club recap is one I have been wanting to put down in words because some events are just conferences, and some events remind you exactly why this work matters. This one brought together fraud fighters from across the industry, from brand-new practitioners to people who have shaped this space for years, and it created the kind of honest, useful, human conversations that do not happen nearly enough.
This was not just another event where people showed up, swapped business cards, sat through panels, and flew home. Yes, there were sessions. Yes, there were deep dives. Yes, there were a lot of smart people in the room. But what stayed with me was the heart behind it. The honesty. The humility. The willingness to share what is not working, not just what sounds good on stage.
In this episode, I sat down with Hailey Windham and Jen Lamont after a packed few days in Charlotte to talk through what stood out, what hit hard, and what still has me thinking. We talked about the sessions, about the conversations happening in the hallways, the sidebars, the debriefs, and the moments that make you stop and think, okay, this industry is changing.
We got into the real heart of Fraud Fight Club, the energy behind it, the collaboration, the pattern recognition, and the reminder that anti-fraud collaboration is not a nice idea anymore. It is a requirement.
And honestly, this conversation also went somewhere deeper. We talked about scam awareness through the lens of victim stories that were impossible to shake. We talked about first-party fraud and a case that showed what can happen when investigation, collaboration, and persistence all line up. We talked about ghost tapping fraud, chargeback fraud, and the very real sense that fraud fighters are trying to move faster in an environment where fraudsters still have fewer constraints than the rest of us.
This is one of those episodes where the big takeaway is not just âhere is what happened at a fraud conference.â It is bigger than that. It is about what happens when the people who care deeply about scam prevention, financial institution fraud, and banking fraud get in the same room and stop pretending they can solve it alone.
Here is what that collaborative fraud-fighting mindset means in practice:It means making room for new fraud fighters, not just established voices.It means learning from victim stories without turning their pain into a talking point.It means sharing tactics, trends, and blind spots across institutions instead of guarding information too tightly.It means recognizing that fraud industry networking only matters if it turns into action after the event ends.
What youâll hear in this episode:Why Fraud Fight Club feels different from other fraud conferencesWhat Tracy Hallâs story revealed about the emotional and systemic toll of scamsWhy scam awareness and victim advocacy have to be part of any serious fraud prevention conference conversationWhat stood out in Jen Lamontâs first-party fraud case with Marc EvansWhy ghost tapping fraud is still creating confusion for financial institutionsHow chargeback fraud, merchant fraud, and issuer-side fraud strategy connect more than people realizeWhy anti fraud collaboration is becoming one of the most important shifts in the industryHow Merchant Fraud Alliance fits into the bigger picture from here
You should listen to this episode if you:Work in financial institution fraud and want a sharper sense of where the industry is headingCare about scam prevention and want a more human conversation about romance scam victim advocacyAre trying to understand why first-party fraud and ghost tapping fraud keep surfacing in the same broader fraud conversationsWant a real fraud event recap that goes deeper than âthese were the sessionsâBelieve fraud industry networking should lead to actual progress, not just more business cardsIf you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
-
Whatâs up, fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!
In this episode, Iâm sitting down with Angela Diaz to talk about something that sounds simple on the surface, but honestly, it creates more fraud gaps than a lot of teams realize. We throw around terms like controls, strategy, and process all the time in fraud operations. We say them like they mean the same thing. They do not. And when we start treating them like they are interchangeable, that is exactly where things begin to break down.
This conversation came directly from Angela, and I loved that immediately because when a practitioner says, âwe need to talk about this,â that usually means there is something real happening inside fraud programs right now. And this one is real. I have seen it. You have probably seen it too. Teams are busy, alerts are firing, processes are moving, and yet losses are still getting through. That is usually not because nobody cares. It is because the foundation is off.
So this episode is really about getting back to basics in the best possible way. We slow down and separate fraud controls from fraud strategy and from fraud processes, because if we cannot define those correctly, we are going to build the rest of the fraud program on top of confusion. And once that happens, fraudsters do what they always do. They find the gap and they use it.
What youâll hear in this episode:The real difference between fraud controls, fraud strategy, and fraud processesWhy preventative vs detective controls matter more than most teams realizeHow process mapping in fraud helps expose operational fraud gapsWhy control performance monitoring needs to be part of every fraud risk management conversationWhat the Chase check fraud incident shows us about fraud loss prevention controlsHow fraud leaders can tell whether they have a true layered approach or just more stuffWhy fraud monitoring needs to connect back to strategy, not just activityWhere process gaps in banking show up in ATM fraud controls, payments risk controls, and check fraud control in bankingWhy vendor management fraud risk and lack of line of sight create another layer of exposure
You should listen to this episode if:You work in fraud operations and feel like your team is doing a lot but still not getting ahead of lossYou are trying to mature your fraud program and need clearer thinking around financial institution fraud controlsYou are working on a fraud risk assessment and need a better way to think about risk entry pointsYou know your team has processes in place, but you are not sure whether they are actually functioning like controlsYou want a more practical way to think about fraud control strategy in banking without making it overly complicated
Subscribe and stay connectedIf this episode makes you pause and rethink something in your own program, send it to your team. Really. Start the conversation. Pressure test the way controls, strategy, and process actually show up in your environment. And if you want more of these real conversations, make sure you are subscribed to Fraud Forward and signed up for the Monday Fraud Fix.
-
Whatâs up fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward! This episode is just me and you, and honestly, that felt right. Fraud Forward has always been about real conversations, but every once in a while, I think it matters to pause, zoom out, and talk peer to peer about where weâve been, what Iâve been building, and where this work is going next. No guests. No panel. No polished back-and-forth. Just a real check-in on fraud prevention in banking and the decisions that are shaping what comes next.
This episode matters because the questions in front of us are getting bigger, not smaller. We are no longer just talking about fraud trends in isolation. We are talking about AI in banking, payment authorization, customer dispute resolution in banks, real-time decisioning, and the governance problems sitting underneath all of it. If you work in fraud, risk, payments, compliance, or digital banking, you already know this is not a future-state conversation. It is here now.
And that is really the core of this episode. Fraud prevention in banking is no longer just about identifying bad activity after the fact. It is about whether institutions can make better decisions earlier, with better context, better governance, and better alignment across teams. That is the shift. That is what I have been hearing in conference hallways, seeing in operator conversations, and building toward behind the scenes.
I also wanted to make this episode personal because that matters too. I have sat in the practitioner seat. I know what it feels like to defend fraud losses in a boardroom, to get asked how your institution compares to peers, to explain why a rule fired, and to carry the pressure of making the right call with incomplete information. So when I talk about AI agents in banking, banking fraud detection, or responsible AI in banking, I am not talking from a distance. I am talking from the perspective of somebody who knows what it feels like when the operational reality hits the fraud desk first.
Here is what that shift means in practice:We need to stop treating fraud as only a detection problem and start treating it as a governance and decisioning problem.We need better ways to evaluate customer authorization fraud, disputes, and real-time transaction risk before losses harden.We need clearer operator-level benchmarking so banks and credit unions can advocate for resources with facts, not guesswork.We need stronger collaboration across fraud, compliance, product, operations, and leadership because no one team can solve this alone.
What youâll hear in this episode:A look back at the biggest themes from recent Fraud Forward conversations, including AI, KYC, payment fraud, and systems-level risk.What I have been building behind the scenes to support fraud fighters with clearer signals, faster context, and more practical guidance.Why benchmarking has become one of the most important gaps to solve for community banks and credit unions.What I am seeing across conferences, operator conversations, and industry events right now.My take on why scams, chargebacks, first-party fraud, and regulation are all colliding in ways the industry can no longer ignore.
You should listen to this episode if you:Work in fraud prevention in banking and need a clearer view of where the industry is headingWant a peer-level perspective on AI in banking, governance, and transaction riskAre trying to connect fraud operations to executive conversations about budget, staffing, and strategyNeed stronger language and better framing around customer dispute resolution in banks and customer authorization fraudCare about building fraud programs that are more proactive, more defensible, and more useful to the institutionIf you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
-
Whatâs up fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward!
This episode picks right back up in one of the most important places this conversation could go: what happens after we move past the shiny AI headlines and start talking about control, governance, disputes, and real accountability inside financial services.
Because that is the real conversation around agentic banking.
Not just whether AI in banking is possible.
Not just whether customers will use it.
But whether banks are ready to govern it responsibly when AI agents in banking start influencing payments, authorization, disputes, and customer trust.
What I really appreciated about this part of the conversation is that we did not stay at the hype layer. We got into what agentic payments actually require if institutions want to use them safely. We talked about AI governance in banking, AI transaction monitoring, banking compliance and AI, and what it means to preserve trust when AI banking transactions start happening closer to the customer.
And that matters.
Because if agentic banking is going to become part of the future of financial services AI, then we have to build it with intention. We have to build it with controls. And we have to make sure trust infrastructure in banking grows with the technology instead of getting left behind by it.
What youâll hear in this episodeHow agentic banking can solve real customer friction in ways traditional digital banking tools often cannotWhy AI agents in banking create new questions around governance, accountability, and controlHow AI payment authorization, OTP checks, and layered safeguards can help make AI banking transactions saferWhy banking compliance and AI need stronger context sharing, better auditability, and clearer ownershipHow AI transaction monitoring may need to evolve from reviewing transactions alone to reviewing prompts, instructions, and agent-led behaviorWhy banking dispute resolution becomes more complex when a customer authorizes an AI agent instead of initiating every action directlyHow community bank innovation and regional bank innovation can benefit from agentic banking without giving up control
You should listen to this episode ifYou work in fraud, compliance, payments, risk, digital banking, or bank operations You are trying to understand how agentic banking may affect governance and customer trustYou are evaluating AI in banking beyond chatbot functionalityYou care about banking fraud prevention, AI fraud prevention, and safer banking with AIYou want a more practical conversation about how AI-powered banking actually works inside real institutionsYou are asking how banks can modernize customer experience without creating new gaps in controlIf you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
-
What is up fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward!
Today weâre talking about AI transaction monitoring and why it matters so much as agentic banking starts moving from concept to reality.
Because once AI agents in banking move beyond simple chat and into actions, payments, and customer instructions, the risk conversation changes fast.
This is no longer just about whether AI in banking feels helpful.
It is about whether institutions can actually monitor intent.
Trace authorization.
Support banking dispute resolution.
And reduce fraud risk without losing the trust theyâve worked so hard to build.
In this episode, I sat down with Tyllen Bicakcic to break down what agentic banking actually means, why it is gaining traction, and why AI transaction monitoring is going to become one of the most important control layers in this entire conversation.
What I really appreciated about this discussion is that we did not stay at the hype level.
We talked about real use cases.
Real banking friction.
Real fraud questions.
And the very real challenge of how banks can build safer banking with AI without creating new blind spots around governance, payment risk monitoring, and customer trust.
And the reality is this.
If AI agents are going to influence transactions, then transaction monitoring in banking has to evolve right alongside them.
What you'll hear in this episode⢠What agentic banking actually means and how it differs from traditional AI in banking
⢠Why AI agents in banking create new questions around intent, authorization, and accountability
⢠How AI transaction monitoring can strengthen banking fraud prevention and AI fraud prevention
⢠Why trust infrastructure in banking matters as much as innovation
How banks can think about AI governance in banking without rebuilding everything from scratch
⢠Why banking compliance and AI must move together as agentic payments become more practical
⢠How banking dispute resolution changes when an AI agent initiates or influences a transaction
⢠Where real-time fraud monitoring, payment risk monitoring, and AI risk signals fit into the next phase of digital banking AI
You should listen to this episode if⢠You lead fraud, risk, compliance, BSA, AML, or payments programs at a bank or credit union
⢠Your team is evaluating agentic banking or AI agents in banking
⢠You are thinking about how AI transaction monitoring should work in real financial services AI environments
⢠You want a better understanding of AI payment authorization and dispute handling in an AI-driven world
⢠You care about building safer banking with AI without giving up control, visibility, or trust
If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
-
What is up fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward!
This is one of those conversations every fraud, risk, payments, and operations leader should hear.
We spend a lot of time talking about fraud losses, scam trends, and faster payments. What we do not always unpack is where the real breakdown happens in the payment journey. Does it start at onboarding? Does it show up in authentication? Is speed the issue? Is recovery the problem? Or are institutions still misreading what payment controls are actually designed to do?
In this episode, I sit down with Kyle Caldwell from The Clearing House to unpack payments fraud prevention the way teams actually experience it in the real world:
Before a payment startsDuring payment initiationAfter the funds are sentBecause once the money moves, everything changes.
That is the core message of this episode. Payments fraud prevention is not only about the rail. It is about the full lifecycle.
Kyle brings a practical perspective to one of the biggest myths in our space. Faster payments are not automatically the cause of more fraud. In many cases, the payment itself is just the final stage of a much earlier breakdown involving identity, compromise, or weak controls.
If you work in community banking fraud prevention, credit union fraud prevention, or broader fraud operations strategy, this episode gives you a more useful way to think about risk, controls, and response in a real-time environment.
What youâll hear in this episodeWhy payments fraud prevention needs to begin long before the payment railHow institutions often confuse rail risk with customer compromiseWhere RTP fraud prevention differs from ACH fraud recovery and wire fraud recoveryWhich payment initiation fraud controls exist in real-time payments that many teams overlookHow indemnity and recovery work in the RTP environmentWhy real time decisioning matters more than relying on investigation after the factWhere firms are overbuilt on detection but underprepared on preventionWhy collaboration across institutions still mattersWhat fraud leaders should be planning for as payment lifecycle fraud evolves in 2026
You should listen to this episode if youLead fraud, risk, payments, or operations at a financial institutionAre reviewing RTP fraud prevention or strengthening instant payments fraud controlsWant to improve fraud prevention before payment initiationNeed a better approach to post payment fraud recoveryAre building a stronger financial institution fraud strategyWant practical insight from The Clearing House perspectiveIf this episode gave you something useful, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another fraud fighter. It helps more people find the show and strengthens the community.
-
What is up fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward!
AI is accelerating fraud, 100 percent. But the bigger risk, the thing that should keep every fraud leader up at night, is what happens when fraud teams stop thinking strategically because the queue never ends.
In Part 2 of Fraud Forward, Iâm back with Ted Josephson, VP of Bank Fraud & Credit Strategy at Synchrony Financial, and we are getting into fraud leadership at the enterprise level, where strategy, AI, automation, and culture collide.
Because let me just assure you, fraud prevention at scale requires more than tools. It requires fraud leadership strategies, fraud team leadership that protects time for long-term planning, and strategic fraud solutions that can separate normal fraud noise from the signals of a true fraud shift.
Then we get direct about AI. Where itâs delivering real value today, where the industry is still overhyping âAIâ that is not actually learning, and why certain decisions, especially first-party fraud, should never be fully automated without human accountability and empathy.
And fraud fighters, we close with what Ted thinks is being underestimated right now, and itâs big. Agentic commerce creating a new accountability and disputes nightmare, plus the rise of casual âfriendly fraudâ as a cultural norm. Because fraud prevention evolution is not just a technology program, it is bank fraud leadership and credit risk leadership in action. This is fraud prevention innovation, and it demands strategic fraud decisions.
What youâll hear in this episode:How enterprise fraud teams protect time for long-term strategy when fraud never stopsWhy planning cannot be an extra, it has to be scheduled like any other critical operating functionHow to tell the difference between normal fraud noise and the signals of a systemic weaknessWhat separates a short-term spike from a true fraud shiftWhere AI is delivering real value today, including consistent case narratives and operational efficiencyWhere the industry is still overhyping âAIâ that is not actually learningWhy certain decisions, especially first-party fraud, should never be fully automated without human accountability and empathyWhy agentic commerce could create a new accountability and disputes nightmareHow casual âfriendly fraudâ is becoming normalized, and why that cultural shift mattersHow banking fraud strategy and credit strategy leadership collide in enterprise fraud teams
You should listen to this episode if you:Lead fraud solutions leadership efforts and you feel like the urgent is crowding out the importantRun fraud prevention at scale and need a better framework to separate noise from true fraud shiftsAre building fraud leadership development for your team and want practical, real-world strategyManage enterprise fraud teams and need strategic fraud insights you can apply immediatelyOwn bank fraud leadership responsibilities and want to pressure test your strategic fraud solutionsAre navigating credit risk leadership decisions alongside fraud risk and disputesAre worried about agentic commerce, dispute accountability, and what comes nextAre watching âfriendly fraudâ become a cultural norm and need fraud leadership strategies to respondIf you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
-
What is up fraud fighters and welcome to Fraud Forward.
In this episode we sit down with Ted Josephson, VP of Bank Fraud and Credit Strategy at Synchrony Financial, to talk about what advanced fraud solutions leadership really looks like when fraud prevention moves beyond reacting to threats and becomes part of enterprise strategy.
Tedâs path into the fraud space did not start in a fraud department. It started in banking operations working branches, call centers, and digital systems. That kind of experience shapes how leaders approach fraud prevention because they understand how financial institutions actually function day to day.
And that perspective matters.
Because strong fraud leadership is not just about stopping bad transactions. It is about building resilient teams, aligning fraud prevention with credit strategy leadership, and making strategic fraud decisions that protect both customers and institutions at scale.
Throughout the conversation we explore how enterprise fraud teams evolve as institutions grow and why fraud leaders must shift from tactical problem solving to long term strategy.
In this episode we discuss
⢠How fraud leaders transition from investigators to strategic decision makers
⢠Why enterprise fraud solutions require strong collaboration across fraud, credit, and risk teams
⢠What changes when organizations scale fraud prevention across millions of accounts
⢠Why the language fraud leaders use internally can shape executive decisions
⢠How modern fraud threats require both advanced technology and human judgment
This episode is for you if
⢠You lead banking fraud prevention teams and want to strengthen your fraud leadership strategies
⢠You work in credit risk, compliance, or financial crime teams navigating enterprise fraud decisions
⢠You support credit union fraud prevention programs and want insights from large scale fraud organizations
⢠You are building advanced fraud prevention programs and want to understand how leadership drives fraud prevention innovation
Fraud leadership today requires more than tools and alerts. It requires strategy, communication, and the ability to guide teams through uncertainty while fraud threats continue to evolve.
If you enjoy the conversation, make sure to subscribe to Fraud Forward on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen.
Stay vigilant, stay informed, and keep moving fraud forward.
-
Fraudsters arenât only targeting customers anymore. Theyâre targeting fraud teams.
In this episode of Fraud Forward, Hailey Windham sits down with Jared Gruenberg to explain how fake LinkedIn companies are using Easy Apply and âpre-interviewâ screening emails to harvest operational intelligence; the exact tools, signals, and investigation workflows that fraud, AML, and compliance teams use to stop bad actors.
Jared shares the real-world pattern he found across multiple impersonated companies, including suspicious hiring volume, fake employee profiles, brand-new domains, and fast follow-ups that push candidates to answer detailed technical questions. The goal isnât just personal data, itâs industry mapping. When attackers collect hundreds of answers from experienced candidates, they can tune their tactics, probe specific vendor controls, and even train themselves to pass recruiter screens.
Hailey and Jared also dig into why this works: LinkedInâs trust factor, the low-friction nature of Easy Apply, and the human reality of burnout, layoffs, and career pressure that makes âtwo taps on your phoneâ feel worth it.
Topics covered:
⢠How fake LinkedIn companies use Easy Apply as an attack surface
⢠The signals that reveal impersonation and resume-harvesting rings
⢠Why fraud, AML, and compliance resumes are especially valuable
⢠How âtechnical screeningâ emails turn into playbook extraction
⢠What attackers can do with aggregated investigator responses
⢠Why burnout and layoffs increase vulnerability, even for experts
⢠Practical steps to protect fraud knowledge and share intelligence safely
đ Guest lineup:
Jared Gruenberg â Fraud investigator and author of âYour Fraud Team Is Leaking Your Defense Playbook Right Nowâ
Hailey Windham â Host of Fraud Forward & Community Banking Lead, Sardine
đ Subscribe for more real-world fraud insights from the people closest to the risk.
-
âItâs always Day Oneâ sounds like a startup clichÊ⌠until you hear it from someone whoâs spent his career on the front lines of threat finance.
In this episode of Fraud Forward, host Hailey Windham sits down with Ari Redbord (Global Head of Policy & Government Affairs at TRM Labs) to unpack how financial crime prevention is evolving as crypto, traditional finance, and AI-driven scams collide. Ariâs path spans federal prosecution in D.C., the U.S. Treasury, sanctions and terrorism financing, giving him a rare view of where policy, investigations, and technology actually meet.
Hailey and Ari get real about what âpublicâprivate partnershipâ should mean in practice (spoiler: not more roundtables), and why real-time disruption networks are the model forward. They break down why âcrypto crimeâ is a misleading label, how blockchain transparency changes investigations, and what TradFi still does better when it comes to governance and mature controls.
They also dig into the operational reality teams are wrestling with right now: AI moving faster than regulation, scams scaling with generative tooling, and the risk of falling behind if fraud and compliance donât learn how to harness new tech without losing human judgment.
The core takeaway is simple: the threats are moving faster, across more rails, and complacency is the real risk, so the mindset has to stay Day One.
Guest lineup:
Ari Redbord: Global Head of Policy & Government Affairs at TRM LabsHailey Windham: Host of Fraud Forward and Community Banking Lead at Sardine
-
Know your customer (KYC) was never designed to be fraud control, yet fraud programs across the industry treat it like one. In this episode of Fraud Forward, host Hailey Windham sits down with Steve Lenderman, Head of Fraud Prevention at iSolve, for a necessary conversation about what KYC actually does, what it can't do, and why that distinction matters more than ever.
Steve and Hailey challenge the assumption that passing KYC means an identity is safe to trust. They explore why every fraud eventually passes KYC, how synthetic identities exploit static verification, and what AI has revealed about the limitations of one-time checks. From the gap between identity existence and identity ownership to the behavioral signals that matter after onboarding, this episode reframes KYC as a starting point, not a solution.
The highlights:
Why every fraud eventually passes KYCThe gap between identity existence and identity ownershipBehavioral signals that matter after onboardingWhy AI didn't break KYC, rather how it just exposed what was already brokenGuest lineup:
Steve Lenderman: Head of Fraud Prevention at iSolveHailey Windham: Host of Fraud Forward and Community Banking Lead at Sardine
- Mostrar más
