Fraud Forward – Details, episodes & analysis

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.

Ted’s 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 aren’t only targeting customers anymore. They’re 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 “pre-interview” 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 isn’t just personal data, it’s 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: LinkedIn’s trust factor, the low-friction nature of Easy Apply, and the human reality of burnout, layoffs, and career pressure that makes “two taps on your phone” 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 “technical screening” 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

🎙 Guest lineup:

Jared Gruenberg — Fraud investigator and author of “Your Fraud Team Is Leaking Your Defense Playbook Right Now”

Hailey Windham — Host of Fraud Forward & Community Banking Lead, Sardine

👉 Subscribe for more real-world fraud insights from the people closest to the risk.

This is a legacy episode from Banking on Fraudology, originally published on December 3, 2025.

In this episode of Fraud Forward (formerly Banking on Fraudology), Hailey Windham welcomes back Ian Mitchell, founder of The Knoble, to delve into the organization's critical mission, its global impact, and the urgent need for community support.

The conversation centers on the concept of "human crimes," a focus area for The Knoble, which includes human trafficking, child exploitation (especially online exploitation of children), scams, and elder financial exploitation. Banks are in a powerful position to detect and disrupt these financially motivated crimes proactively.

Ian's message to fraud fighters and leaders is to "live with heart" and to remember that they are in the people business. He encourages listeners to get involved in The Knoble's free network and consider sending a team member to the Human Crime Specialist Program.

In this reflective and gratitude-filled episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham takes a moment to step back and appreciate the people and themes shaping the fight against fraud, delivering a "giant serving of gratitude" for the community.

The conversation dives into the industry's evolution, highlighting how innovation and collaboration are aligning to create a powerful, transformative moment in fraud prevention. Hailey also shares personal highlights from a recent major industry event and spotlights the leaders who are making a significant impact.

Key Takeaways: Gratitude, Collaboration, and the Future of Fraud Fighting

1. Empathy is Not Optional: Hailey stresses that empathy must be recognized as a core fraud prevention strategy. Inspired by Kathy Stokes of AARP and the "Words Matter campaign," the episode emphasizes that if we shame victims, we protect fraudsters, and we must talk about victims with dignity.
2. The End of Siloed Intelligence: Collaboration is no longer optional; we fight better when we fight together. Hailey discusses conversations with innovators like Robbie from Sardine, who advocate for collective intelligence, shared signals, and bringing smaller institutions into the fold.
3. Innovation is Working For Us: Drawing on insights from Andrea at Old Glory Bank, Hailey asserts that this is the best time to fight fraud, as technology, data, and awareness are aligning, and tools are evolving quickly. Fraud fighters should start embracing tech and AI resources.
4. Spotlight on Industry Leaders: Hailey expresses gratitude for the impact of numerous leaders, including Jen (America's Credit Unions) for empowering frontline teams with quarterly fraud trainings, Mark Solomon (IAFCI) for his global perspective , and Trisha Stoner (Carolinas Chapter IAFCI) whom Hailey is honored to serve as Second VP under.
5. Honoring Courage and Legacy: The episode shares moving highlights from the Carolinas IAFCI Conference, including the creation of a Community Service Award and the naming of the Gavin Guffey Cyber Investigator of the Year award. This new award honors the legacy of Gavin Guffey and the advocacy of House Representative Brandon Guffey in the fight against online exploitation and sextortion.
6. The State of the Fraud Fighter: The biggest theme resonating with every guest is that fraud fighters are exhausted, but hopeful. That combination of determination and optimism is what is creating movement.

Get in the mood of being grateful and be reminded of how strong the fraud-fighting community truly is.

Banking on Fraudology is presented by Sardine.ai.

In this episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham sits down with Ravi Loganathan, Co-founder and President of Sonar AI and Head of Banking and Policy at Sardine. Ravi, who has over 20 years in banking and consortium work with institutions like Early Warning Services, Zelle, and Bank of America, has been leading the charge at Sardine to make intelligent sharing accessible and actionable for all institutions.

The conversation dives deep into the concept of collective intelligence, which Ravi describes as a "must-have" in the age of accelerating AI-driven scams. Fraudsters exploit information sharing gaps by jumping from one institution (like a fintech) to another (like a large regulated bank), making an ecosystem-wide defense essential.

Key Takeaways: Unlocking Collective Intelligence with Sonar AI

1. The Sonar AI Origin Story: Sonar AI was kickstarted three years ago by a group of banks and fintechs to fill a critical gap: the lack of infrastructure for real-time risk information sharing when funds movement or instant settlement is authorized. This was driven by the need to combat authorized push payment (APP) fraud, particularly concerning the lack of insights on the recipient.
2. How Sonar AI Works: Sonar AI is an industry utility. Before an institution authorizes a fund movement or account opening, they can inquire into Sonar on the entity conducting the transaction. Sonar returns curated signals (often simplified to "high, medium, low" risk, block list status, etc.) for the institution to augment their existing risk decisioning process. In return, the institution provides feedback, benefiting the next inquiring member.
3. Regulatory Foundation: Sonar AI is built on a strong regulatory framework, having worked with FinCEN to receive 314(b) designation to form an association of financial institutions. It also facilitates broader fraud signal sharing under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
4. Empowering Smaller FIs: Sonar AI offers features specifically for smaller community banks and credit unions, including batch contribution and batch inquiry to eliminate the need for immediate API tech builds. Ravi details their collaboration with the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) accelerator program to embed Sardine's solutions into core providers and invite FIs to join Sonar as members.
5. Future Innovations: Ravi reveals Sonar AI's newest services, including Footprint, which provides a broader view of a consumer's financial standing by tracking their transactions across crypto exchanges, marketplaces, and fintechs , and the expansion of the Red Flag service for monitoring credentials leaked on the dark web.

This is a must-listen for investigators, executives, and anyone working in the financial crimes space who is serious about strengthening prevention efforts and is ready to embrace the future of shared, collective defense.

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham/

In this powerful bonus episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham sits down with Andrea Vallentine, Senior Vice President of Fraud and Risk at Old Glory Bank.

The conversation dives deep into Andrea's genuinely excited perspective that "this might actually be the best time to be fighting fraud". We explore the rising momentum of collaboration and shared learning that is unifying the industry against fraudsters.

1. The Power of Collaboration: Andrea highlights the exciting activities and investments from groups like Fraud Fight Club, Operation Shamrock, and House of Fraud. The focus is shifting from selling products to learning, educating, and collaborating.
2. The AI Perspective: The industry is moving past fear, recognizing that AI has been around for a long time. The recent AI explosion has gotten people more open to listening, realizing they are already using smart technologies in areas like transaction scoring (e.g., Falcon) and link analysis.

1. A Shift to Purpose: Collaboration is increasing because the industry now recognizes the emotional devastation and human impact of fraud. The focus has moved beyond competing to a shared mission of working together "against the fraudsters".

1. Tips for Smaller Teams (Leveraging AI): Andrea recommends that smaller teams use AI (like ChatGPT) to draft summaries, create templates, and refine procedures. This allows teams to find holes in their processes and generate new ideas without using sensitive PII.

1. The Human Side of Design: Empathy is shaping the next generation of fraud design. Using machine learning to identify patterns of customer friction , and giving real-life stories to team members, helps move them out of "robot mode" and focus on the customer experience.

1. Andrea's Final Thought: AI is not scary, and we have been using it forever in things like marketing suggestions on Amazon. She encourages everyone to get involved and leverage the wealth of existing, shared resources instead of recreating materials.

This is a must-listen for executives, investigators, and all fraud professionals who are serious about strengthening prevention efforts and building a fraud-fighting community driven by empathy and innovation.

Links:

1. Connect to Andrea on LinkedIn
2. Learn more about the Safeguard AI deep dive retreat happening in May : SafeguardEvent.com

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn

In this powerful episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham sits down with John Duffley, Communications Director at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), who leads the global coordination and growth of International Fraud Awareness Week.

The conversation dives deep into the origins of this massive global initiative, which began in 2000 as "National Fraud Awareness Week" and has since evolved to be celebrated by thousands of organizations across more than 130 countries, supporting a community of over 95,000 fraud professionals.

Key Takeaways: International Fraud Awareness Week

A Global Springboard: Fraud Week is an annual opportunity for organizations of all sizes—from local law firms to Fortune 500 companies—to discuss and address fraud prevention and detection efforts, serving as a launchpad for success in the coming year.

Creative Campaign Ideas: Organizations participate in countless impactful ways, including multi-week campaigns, virtual trainings, community events, social media efforts, and internal recognition (like Hailey's personal "Scooby Doo Awards"!).

Tips for Smaller Teams: John and Hailey share simple, budget-friendly ways smaller financial institutions (FIs) like credit unions and community banks can participate, emphasizing conversation, awareness, social media engagement, and internal recognition. Hailey shares a successful, low-cost fraud roundtable example.

Essential ACFE Resources: Get a rundown of the free resources available on fraudweek.com, including proclamation and press release templates, interactive games like "Geo Party" and "Fraud Myth Busters," videos, infographics, and a simple Fraud Prevention Checklist.

Building a Fraud-Savvy Culture: Learn how Fraud Week can initiate long-term cultural change, the importance of gaining leadership buy-in by reaffirming brand trust, and the proven ROI of awareness training (tips are the most common detection method, accounting for 43% of frauds).

John's Top Tip for Every Fraud Fighter: Start a conversation with someone close to you—a colleague, supervisor, or family member—because awareness begins with simply sharing what you know to protect those most vulnerable to scams.

This is a must-listen for investigators, executives, and anyone working in the financial crimes space who is serious about strengthening prevention efforts and building a global fraud-fighting community.

Don't forget to use #FraudWeek when sharing your organization's efforts!

Links:

Connect with the global fraud-fighting community and download your free resources: fraudweek.com

acfe.com/

In this powerful episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham sits down with Kathy Stokes, Director of Fraud Prevention Programs at AARP, a nationally recognized leader in consumer protection and elder fraud prevention.

The conversation dives deep into Stokes's foundational statement: "We need to talk about victims in order to talk about the fraud as a crime". They explore why language is the single most critical tool in the fight against financial crime and how the words we choose can either help or harm.

Key Takeaways:

- Calling it a Crime: Stokes explains that financial fraud must be viewed as a crime, not as a mistake by the person who experienced it, which helps shift the blame from the victim to the transnational criminal enterprises that are often responsible.

- The Problem with Avoiding "Victim": While a person who experienced the crime should be allowed to lead the conversation one-on-one, in the third person, the term "victim" should be used to help people understand the severity of the crime.

- The Power of Empathy: They discuss the psychological impact of being deceived, and why approaching a person with context and empathy (rather than immediately saying "you've been scammed") is crucial to prevent them from shutting down.

- Changing the Language: Stokes shares two terms she wishes the industry would eliminate: "fraudster," because it sounds "kind of cute" and gets the perpetrator "off the hook," and "victim assisted," which inaccurately implies the victim aided the crime rather than being coerced or manipulated.

- A Call to Action for Fraud Teams: Kathy Stokes stresses that the first reaction to someone who has experienced fraud should be: "My God, I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's not your fault. Come on, let's talk about it. Let's report it".

- Hope for the Future: Hear about AARP's groundbreaking work, including the Words Matter campaign and their effort to change the narrative surrounding fraud through advocacy, education, and partnerships.

This is a must-listen for investigators, executives, and anyone working in the financial crimes space who is serious about strengthening prevention efforts and supporting those impacted by fraud.

______________________________

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn

Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn

Links:

AARP Words Matter Campaign: aarp.org/wordsmatter

Fraud Wars on Youtube

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Fraud Forward is powered by Sardine

In this insightful episode of Banking on Fraudology, host Hailey Widham welcomes Mark Solomon, President of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI), for an in-depth look at how global collaboration is reshaping the fight against financial crime.

With more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and fraud investigation, Mark shares his personal journey from detective to IAFCI leader and reveals how the organization’s vast network of over 8,000 members empowers professionals across banking, retail, insurance, and law enforcement. The discussion explores the IAFCI’s mission, structure, and the importance of community-driven intelligence sharing, plus a look at major initiatives such as its annual conference and the recent cryptocurrency summit.

Mark Solomon

https://www.iafci.org/

https://open.spotify.com/show/6IkkWtu1U7kJmJTbh4CxdK?si=d7f856c500f14511

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iafci-presents-the-protectors/id1587253361

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham/

1. https://www.fraudfightclub.com/
2. https://www.about-fraud.com/

Fraud Forward is powered by Sardine

In this eye-opening episode of Banking on Fraudology, host Hailey Windham sits down with Ronan Burke, co-founder and CEO of Inscribe, to discuss the alarming rise of document fraud in financial services. As generative AI makes creating fake documents easier than ever, Burke reveals that AI-generated and template-based document fraud has surged over 200% in just the first half of 2023. The conversation dives deep into how fraudsters are weaponizing tools like ChatGPT to produce convincing forgeries of bank statements, pay stubs, and tax forms that can fool even experienced analysts. Burke explains that it's no longer just about spotting obvious fakes - financial institutions now face the challenge of proving documents are real. The episode explores why smaller banks and credit unions are especially vulnerable, and offers practical advice for fraud teams to keep up, including leveraging AI powered document verification tools. Windham and Burke stress that while AI is enabling more sophisticated fraud, it's also the key to detecting and preventing it. This timely discussion is a must listen for fraud fighters, compliance professionals, and financial leaders looking to understand and combat the next wave of AI-driven document fraud. Don't miss this chance to arm yourself with cutting edge insights. Tune in now and join the fight against financial crime in the AI era.

Ronan Burke

1. https://www.inscribe.ai/blog/from-forgeries-to-deepfakes-document-fraud-in-the-age-of-generative-ai
2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rnnbrk/

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham/

1. https://www.fraudfightclub.com/
2. https://www.about-fraud.com/