In this episode, Vito Petruzzelli sits down with Pedro Sanzovo, Sr. Director of New Products at Signifyd, to dive deep into the rapidly evolving world of ecommerce returns.

Pedro, who brings a diverse background in fraud prevention and analytics, frames returns as a crucial moment where consumer trust is tested and loyalty can be won. However, he also highlights how this customer-centric approach has unintentionally created new vulnerabilities, as fraudsters and abusers exploit increasingly lenient return policies designed to delight legitimate shoppers.

The conversation explores the dramatic shift from brick-and-mortar to online return experiences. Pedro and Vito discuss logistical challenges unique to ecommerce, such as higher costs, lack of in-person exchanges, and the complexities of offering instant refunds—a trend that, while aimed at recapturing customer goodwill, can be easily manipulated by bad actors. Pedro provides several real-world examples of returns fraud, from the infamous “rock in the box” scam to advanced tactics like label manipulation, stressing that many merchants still lack visibility into how much fraud and profit erosion occur due to poor data integration and process controls.

Pedro outlines a four-step path to returns management maturity, starting with gaining visibility over returns data, controlling obvious fraud, addressing grey-area abuse, and finally, optimizing processes to tackle excessive returns driven by business inefficiencies. The episode concludes with a discussion on the personal and professional growth opportunities in this complex, cross-functional space—ideal for problem solvers who thrive on both analytical work and broad collaboration. Pedro’s passion for the field underscores the exciting potential for companies and individuals willing to tackle the challenges of modern returns.

Chapters:

00:00 Ecommerce Returns and Fraud Challenges

03:48 Reevaluating Ecommerce Return Costs

08:56 Vito's Creative Fraud Strategies

11:55 Overcoming Refund Fraud Challenges

16:02 Reducing Returns Through Consumer Insights

19:31 Challenges in Ecommerce Returns Process

20:36 Embracing Passion in Problem Solving

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

In this episode, Vito Petruzzelli talks with Rajesh Ramanand, the Founder and CEO of Signifyd and a seasoned expert with nearly 25 years in retail and ecommerce, for an in-depth discussion on the growing challenge of product returns in the digital marketplace.

They kick things off by exploring how the convenience of online shopping has led to a staggering volume of returns—nearing $900 billion annually in the US alone—and how retailers are struggling to replicate the in-store experience, where returns often lead to additional purchases. Raj emphasizes that while brick-and-mortar stores could recapture lost revenue by encouraging customers to shop after a return, recreating that journey online remains a significant hurdle.

A key point of the conversation centers on the hidden costs and organizational fragmentation surrounding returns. Vito and Raj shine a light on how returns have long been accepted as a standard part of business, leading to a lack of clarity and ownership over the issue. Raj explains that no single department oversees the entire returns process; data is scattered across multiple teams, making it almost impossible to identify patterns of negligent or abusive returns, promotional gaming, and supply chain-related errors like inconsistent sizing. By breaking down the avoidable portion of returns—estimated at roughly 50%—the episode provides actionable insights into how retailers can use unified data and analytics to both minimize avoidable returns and improve overall margins.

Looking to the future, the discussion shifts to technology-driven opportunities in the returns ecosystem. Raj highlights the promise of instant refunds for trusted customers, revealing that such measures can prompt 40% of returners to make immediate repeat purchases—helping merchants offset both the direct and indirect costs of returns. He concludes by advising retail leaders to establish clear ownership of the returns function, invest in holistic data analysis, and deploy targeted strategies that reduce costs while maximizing customer value. The episode offers strategic guidance and real-world examples, making it a must-listen for anyone in retail, ecommerce, or revenue management.

Chapters:

00:00 Recreating In-Store Shopping Online

06:26 Return Management: Boosting Profits

08:56 Strategies for Managing Retail Returns

13:22 Challenges in Assessing Purchase Intent

15:39 Risk Management through Data Integration

18:07 Instant Refunds Boost Online Sales

22:37 Reducing Ecommerce Return Rates

23:55 Streamlining Returns Management

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Craig DeWitt, Founder of Skyfire, reveals how agentic commerce is transforming online shopping and why traditional fraud detection systems are blocking billions in valid revenue. The data shows web traffic to major publications has dropped 70% in 6 months as consumers shift to AI-powered shopping interfaces, yet most merchants can't tell the difference between legitimate agent transactions and fraud attempts.

The current agentic commerce experience is clunky - users still manually input credit cards and navigate through traditional checkout flows. But that's about to change dramatically. Craig explains how Skyfire's identity and payments platform solves the core problems: bot managers blocking agent access, IP switching between browsing and payment that triggers fraud alerts, and the lack of PCI-compliant ways for agents to handle credit cards.

The solution involves Know Your Agent (KYA) tokens that provide verified identity information throughout the purchase journey, plus partnerships with card networks like Visa Intelligent Commerce for secure single-use cards. This creates a seamless flow where agents can browse with proper credentials, select products through APIs rather than web scraping, and complete purchases with verified payment methods.

The implications extend far beyond ecommerce. As search functionality moves from Google to chat interfaces, purchase intent follows. Craig predicts we're moving toward ambient shopping where AI understands your preferences and proactively makes purchases - democratizing the personal shopper experience that only wealthy people currently enjoy.

For fraud professionals, this represents both massive opportunity and risk. The current spit-and-glue approach creates false positives that block legitimate high-value transactions. Organizations need to start monitoring bot traffic patterns, partnering with their SEO teams to understand changing web analytics, and preparing for a world where traditional fraud signals become obsolete.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[01:23] Agentic commerce traffic poll results

[03:50] What is agentic commerce exactly

[04:50] Why Craig built Skyfire payment platform

[05:42] Bot protection blocks agentic transactions

[06:37] IP switching triggers fraud alerts

[08:30] Current agentic checkout friction problems

[10:24] Know your agent identity solution

[13:51] API checkout beats website scraping

[16:19] Agentic traffic monitoring strategies

[17:39] Website traffic drops 70 percent

[19:21] Credit card access breakthrough coming

[22:21] Identifying missed revenue from blocks

[24:58] Adoption outpaces smartphone and internet

[27:00] Investment surge in agentic shopping

[29:34] Start with bot traffic analysis

[32:43] Ambient shopping replaces manual browsing

[35:36] Regional patterns in agentic traffic

[40:47] Next generation agent capabilities

[43:33] Two factor authentication for agents

[44:38] Contact Craig at Skyfire

Connect with Craig DeWitt on Twitter @cryptocowboy or reach out via email for more insights on agentic commerce strategies.

Subscribe for more fraud prevention insights and ecommerce trends that impact your bottom line.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

AI shopping agents are quietly infiltrating ecommerce sites, creating a perfect storm for fraud teams. Jordan Brannon, President of Coalition Technologies, reveals how AI bots are already making purchases while appearing completely human - using real devices and browsers that bypass traditional fraud detection.

The challenge is massive. These AI agents look identical to legitimate customers in fraud systems, but companies like OpenAI are actively obfuscating their bot traffic to circumvent security measures. Meanwhile, organic web traffic is plummeting while AI-driven traffic spikes across the internet.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[04:02] Jordan's drop shipping origin story

[05:43] Early spam flags and rejections

[09:57] AI agents creating diagnostic moments

[12:04] Fraud tech blocking AI purchases

[14:50] Shadow bots circumventing perimeter defenses

[18:52] Testing AI agents on websites

[23:18] Zero party data before Black Friday

[25:20] Social commerce fraud fingerprints

[26:34] ADA lawsuits spiking in New York

[29:28] Social platform filtering through Shopify

[32:02] Connected fitness delivery challenges

[35:35] Azure maps preventing mis deliveries

[38:43] AI browsing behaviors for holidays

[39:37] Marketing teams flying blind on fraud

[41:56] Coalition Technologies contact details

Jordan shares real examples from clients dealing with bot-driven product drops, social commerce fraud patterns, and the accessibility compliance issues creating new vulnerabilities. He also breaks down practical solutions including zero-party data collection, address validation APIs, and cross-team collaboration strategies.

With Black Friday approaching, brands face a critical decision: block potentially legitimate AI purchases or risk fraudulent activity. The conversation covers everything from TikTok commerce fingerprinting challenges to delivery logistics fraud prevention.

This episode provides actionable insights for fraud professionals navigating the intersection of AI technology and ecommerce security. Learn how to prepare your systems, test your own site with AI agents, and collaborate with marketing teams to identify fraudulent traffic by channel.

Connect with Jordan Brannon at jordan@coalitiontechnologies.com or find Coalition Technologies by searching "SEO company" - they typically rank #1.

Subscribe for weekly fraud prevention insights and join our community of ecommerce security professionals tackling the industry's biggest challenges.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

In this episode of the Fraudcast, Gena Rivera and Vito Petruzzelli welcome Kelley Andersen, a seasoned leader in payments fraud and customer support tooling at Microsoft and former Amazon fraud expert, to dive into the latest challenges and strategies in e-commerce fraud prevention.

Kelley opens up about her journey from early aspirations in law to risk analytics in insurance, eventually leading major fraud teams at Amazon and Microsoft. She emphasizes the untraditional pathways many take into fraud prevention and sets the stage for an insightful conversation about the dynamic evolution of the field.

The discussion dives deeply into how customer support and fraud teams can—and should—work hand-in-hand, especially as online threats grow more sophisticated. Kelley and the panel stress that social engineering scams now target not just systems but the human element, making frontline customer service agents crucial sources of fraud intelligence. The conversation also covers manual review, the enduring value of the human touch despite rapid advances in AI, and the risks of relying solely on artificial intelligence for fraud detection. Matthew and other participants provide firsthand insights from both financial institutions and operational support, adding layers of real-world perspective.

A major focus of the episode is the rise of agentic commerce—AI-driven or bot-assisted purchasing—which is poised to reshape risk management, especially as Black Friday and other peak shopping events approach. Kelley urges fraud professionals to use this year as a “trial run” for new strategies, suggesting proactive testing and collaboration with other business teams to fine-tune responses to emerging threats. She also shares lessons from past failures, highlighting the importance of scalable, adaptable guardrails instead of aiming for zero fraud or zero tolerance. Ultimately, the episode is a practical, engaging exchange packed with advice and camaraderie for fraud fighters preparing for the ever-changing e-commerce landscape.

Chapters:

00:00 E-commerce Evolution with Kelley

06:28 Adventures in Amazon Innovation

09:44 Analyzing the Lawyer Archetype

15:14 Enhancing Investigative Team Efficiency

18:44 The Human Element in AI Integration

22:27 Revolutionizing Cybersecurity Testing Methods

26:04 Prototyping's Role in Risk Strategy

27:37 Holiday Traffic Risk Assessment

30:50 Planning for High-Volume Events

35:49 Evolving Fraud Assessment Strategies

36:28 Balancing Fraud Detection and Approval Rates

41:56 Embracing Imperfection in Strategic Planning

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

In this episode of the Fraudcast, Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera welcome the legendary Coby Montoya, a seasoned fraud and payments specialist with two decades of experience across companies like PayPal, American Express, and Sift.

The episode’s community-driven format encourages live participation and features contributions from fraud professionals including Ryan, Matthew, and Toy. The conversation kicks off with Coby sharing how a start in customer service gave him unique empathy for the human side of fraud and risk prevention—a perspective that continues to influence his approach even as technology changes.

Much of the discussion focuses on the evolving balance between automation (machine learning and AI) and human judgment in detecting and combating fraud. While the panel acknowledges that many legacy practices—like manual phone verification and simplistic signal-checking—have been left behind, they agree some older tools, such as IP address data and AVS, still retain value when used intelligently. Coby emphasizes that manual review is shifting from routine transaction approvals toward a more strategic “field intelligence” role, providing critical feedback to inform system improvements. The group also explores company structures and the importance of operational and analytical teams working closely, advocating for formal governance and shared escalation procedures to manage risks more holistically.

Timely topics around contemporary threats are addressed, from the increasing sophistication of phishing and social engineering attacks—which now blend urgency with convincing fake content—to the challenges of brand impersonation via cloned websites. The group debates how best to educate and protect consumers, discussing everything from creative UX changes to industry standards for verifying legitimate commerce agents. Looking to the future, they touch on the impending rise of AI-powered shopping agents and the associated questions about new fraud vectors and liability. The episode ultimately offers a practical, candid look at the state of e-commerce fraud today, blending technical know-how with real-world advice and an open invitation for the community to participate in ongoing collaboration.

Chapters:

00:00 Engaging Community During Summer Break

06:29 Bias in Fraud Analytics Discussions

07:43 Future Role of Fraud Professionals

12:22 Rethinking IP Address Importance

16:10 Rethinking Risk and Operations Strategy

19:53 Targeted Phishing Threats

21:26 Enhancing Security: Transaction Friction

24:23 Enhancing UX through Visual Differentiation

28:29 Generative AI Impacts on Trust

33:23 Optimizing AI Through Governance

36:18 Holistic Governance and Accountability

40:07 Agentic Commerce: Liability Issues

41:19 Assessing Financial Risk in Companies

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

This episode of Fraudcast centers on the theme of “making yourself heard” within ecommerce fraud and risk teams, featuring special guest Brian Davis, ecommerce fraud and risk legend.

Brian draws from his vast experience building fraud teams and processes across different business models to share a practical framework he calls “Know Your Stuff, Know Your Audience, Know Your Message.” The discussion emphasizes how fraud professionals can better communicate their insights and needs—whether addressing their own teams or presenting cases to executive leadership—by tailoring their messaging, using data-driven storytelling, and understanding the internal goals and priorities of other stakeholders.

Co-hosts Gena Rivera and Vito Petruzzelli guide an energetic, collaborative conversation, encouraging audience participation from industry peers like Shelley and Justin. Real-world scenarios come up—like handling internal roadblocks, making the business case for preventative controls, and ensuring that positive fraud outcomes don’t go invisible. The group exchanges strategies on framing impact in terms of ROI, customer experience metrics, and how to keep a record of “wins” for ongoing influence. Timely topics, like the confusion and opportunity around new compliance requirements such as VAMP, provide avenues to discuss starting proactive conversations with internal partners and breaking down organizational silos.

Overall, the episode balances expert insights with relatable stories from the field, offering both high-level frameworks and granular tactics for fraud and risk professionals looking to build stronger internal relationships, navigate company politics, and drive meaningful change in their organizations.

Chapters:

00:00 E-commerce Fraud Networking Session

05:29 Cross-Functional Team Contextualisation

08:09 Understand Your Responsibilities and Audience

10:12 Building a Personal Fraud Typology

15:47 Collaborating with Product Teams

16:46 Distinguishing Signal in User Data

23:11 Fraud Detection and Resolution Metrics

27:13 Understanding Company Decision Dynamics

28:35 Evolving Solutions and Persistent Dialogue

34:24 Invisibility's Cost in Business Management

36:29 Document Wins to Track Success

40:13 Curiosity: Fraudster's Hidden Sales Edge

44:24 Navigating Vendor Conversations on Regulations

45:42 Continued Conversations Online

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

This episode of Fraudcast takes a deep dive into the intricacies of fraud within the art and music industries, highlighting how schemes have evolved from historical payola scandals to modern manipulations involving bots, fake streaming numbers, and AI-generated content. Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera set an open and inviting tone for discussion, encouraging active participation from the live audience. They lay the groundwork for a conversation that examines the ethical, technical, and operational complexities of stopping fraudulent activities in sectors where authenticity and provenance are often difficult to verify.

The episode features Steven Frank as the special guest, whose extensive two-decade career spans fraud prevention, AML, and risk management roles at companies like Sirius XM, Pandora, and in the investment banking sector. Frank shares his firsthand experience combating everything from digital music streaming fraud and content theft to anti-money laundering gaps in the fine art and luxury e-commerce markets. He emphasizes the ongoing tension between maintaining business growth metrics—like daily and monthly active users—and the need for robust verification and friction points to reduce fraud and comply with regulations, especially as new technologies and AI continually reshape the landscape.

Throughout the conversational and candid episode, audience members such as Ryan, Tom, and Ron contribute their own questions, delving into real-world concerns about chargebacks, emerging payment security standards, and balancing seamless customer experience with risk management. Key takeaways include the importance of rigorous manual oversight in chargeback disputes, practical tips for working with banks and payment processors, frank discussion about the limitations of relying on AI for financial dispute resolution, and a look ahead at the future of tokenized identities in both the payments and content royalty worlds. The episode ultimately offers both hope and caution: while the fight against fraud is ever-changing and complex, building stronger communities and sharing knowledge are essential to staying ahead.

Chapters:

00:00 Enhancing Virtual Networking Connections

06:06 Cross-Industry Compliance and Fraud Prevention Journey

08:10 Managing Risk at Sirius XM

13:23 Fine Art and Money Laundering Regulation

14:30 Music Streaming and Money Laundering Investigation

20:34 Streaming Fraud and Industry Accountability

25:05 Exploring Identity and Cryptography

26:57 Caution in Using Web3NFT and Crypto

29:38 Impact of Commercializing Artists' Legacies

35:10 Challenges in Opting Out of Banking Regulations

39:04 Friction's Impact on Trust & Safety Careers

39:39 Future Leadership Roles and Market Challenges

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Fraud expert Anna Prince-Palmer reveals the psychological tactics that separate successful fraud fighters from those who constantly play defense. With 15 years of experience spanning law enforcement and tech, she breaks down why understanding criminal behavior is your most powerful weapon.

Anna explains why fraudsters are more motivated than you are - their survival often depends on success while you clock out at 5pm. She demonstrates how to think like an attacker by asking "how would I get this product if I had no money" and shares real examples of spinning up test accounts to find vulnerabilities before bad actors do.

The conversation tackles the dangerous phrase "acceptable risk" and why it signals weak defenses. When you leave small gaps open, fraudsters find them, exploit them, and share techniques with entire networks. Anna and the community discuss honey pot strategies, reseller fraud schemes, and the ego-driven nature of cybercriminals who can't resist bragging about their methods online.

Key insights include translating fraud concerns into business language that marketing and product teams understand, using fraud incidents as momentum for systemic changes, and building cross-functional relationships that prevent fraud from being siloed in the basement.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:13] Celebrating one year fraud community milestone

[05:42] Meet Anna Prince-Palmer

[08:41] Understanding criminal psychology drives fraud prevention

[10:46] Respecting fraud actors as motivated professionals

[12:29] Testing your own products like fraudsters

[14:56] Translating fraud insights to business stakeholders

[18:37] Leadership turnover disrupts fraud strategy consistency

[23:39] Why acceptable risk mindset fails businesses

[26:34] Honey pot strategies for fraud intelligence

[32:49] System confidence beats loss tolerance metrics

[36:21] Credit card testing through MLM platforms

[39:19] Reseller fraud schemes targeting physical products

[47:07] Mental health tips for peak fraud season

Connect with Anna Prince-Palmer on LinkedIn for fraud strategy insights and follow the Fraudcast community for weekly discussions on the latest threats and defense techniques.

Subscribe for more fraud fighting strategies and risk management tactics from industry experts who've been in the trenches. New episodes every Wednesday.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Jesse Martin-Alexander from Kasada reveals how sophisticated bot networks are preparing for Black Friday by creating fake accounts and exploiting pricing errors right now. These aren't your typical nuisance bots - they're organized operations that can devastate your holiday sales and customer experience.

The conversation covers the real cost of bot attacks beyond just stolen inventory, including how over-aggressive bot protection can accidentally block legitimate customers, creating invisible revenue losses. Jesse explains why the traditional approach of making humans prove they're human through endless CAPTCHAs is failing, especially as AI agents begin to reshape e-commerce.

Looking ahead to 2025, AI-powered shopping agents will create new fraud vectors while simultaneously offering legitimate commerce opportunities. The challenge lies in distinguishing between helpful AI agents and malicious bots masquerading as legitimate traffic.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:48] Jesse introduces bot protection strategies

[04:41] How bots exploit pricing errors

[06:06] Black Friday bot preparation timeline

[08:02] Zero dollar checkout vulnerabilities exposed

[10:01] Why blocking bots reduces revenue

[12:21] Total cost of bot attacks

[14:29] Breaking organizational silos effectively

[18:34] AI agent commerce emergence explained

[22:04] Fraud risks with AI agents

[25:34] Peak season agent traffic predictions

[28:17] Preparing for AI commerce unknowns

[31:47] Agent identity verification challenges

[36:39] When blocking creates false positives

[41:00] Detecting perimeter security overcorrection

[43:26] Risk exposure in changing landscapes

Connect with Jesse Martin-Alexander on LinkedIn and learn more about Kasada's bot protection solutions.

Subscribe for weekly fraud prevention insights and join our live community discussions every Wednesday.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Tracy Brown breaks down the fraud landscape heading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday, revealing why refund abuse has now overtaken chargebacks as the biggest threat to merchants. With fake storefronts up 800% in Q1 and AI about to break traditional fraud detection models, this holiday season is shaping up to be unlike any other.

Tracy shares real-world insights from her 25 years in fraud prevention, covering everything from gift card fraud rings to WhatsApp business scams. She explains why velocity checks are the most forgotten fraud prevention tool and how romance scams are creating unexpected money laundering challenges for merchants.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:47] Meet Tracy Brown, fraud consultant expert

[04:24] Tracy shifts from merchant council work

[06:55] Why fraud patterns repeat 25 years

[09:43] Essential fraud basics new teams miss

[10:54] Refund abuse overtakes chargeback volume

[11:25] Velocity checks prevent testing attacks

[12:35] Fake storefront fraud up 800 percent

[12:58] AI threatens holiday fraud models

[15:16] Crypto romance scams drive chargebacks

[16:01] Michelle shares fake ad takedown struggles

[18:13] Brand protection squads fight storefront fraud

[19:56] Privacy versus cryptographic identity verification

[22:15] Gift card fraud rings target merchants

[23:08] WhatsApp business scams exploit encrypted messaging

[26:30] Psychology behind falling for modern scams

[30:09] COVID created loneliness vulnerability epidemic

[32:01] Fingerprinting becomes new fraud prevention tool

[33:49] Car club analogy explains security evolution

[37:13] AI breaks traditional fraud detection models

[39:47] This becomes the AI trial year

[40:40] Revenue optimizer beats fraud fighter title

The discussion reveals how COVID created an epidemic of loneliness that made consumers more vulnerable to scams, and why fingerprinting and other traditional fraud signals are becoming less reliable as AI advances. Tracy also explains the psychology behind why people fall for scams and how fraudsters are now targeting demographics beyond traditional vulnerable populations.

For merchants preparing for peak season, Tracy emphasizes the importance of understanding what fraud actually is, preparing for the surge in chargebacks, and monitoring velocity across all customer touchpoints. She warns that this will be the trial year for AI-powered fraud, after which the landscape will fundamentally change.

Subscribe for more fraud prevention insights and join our weekly community discussions where industry experts share practical strategies for protecting your business.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Manual review queues are about to explode during Black Friday and holiday season. Most merchants send 8-10% of orders to manual review, but without proper optimization, that could jump to 15-20% when volume increases 4x.

Luke Van Hine, Data Scientist at Signifyd, reveals how to optimize your manual review queue before the holiday rush hits. The counterintuitive insight: if you have 0% fraud losses in certain buckets with only 89% approval rates, you're actually leaving money on the table.

The analysis process is surprisingly straightforward. Start by binning your current manual review cases by risk score, looking at approval rates and loss rates in each bucket. If you see buckets with high approval rates and zero losses, your team isn't taking enough risk there. You can often reduce queue volume by 40-50% while maintaining or even improving overall performance.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:14] Why manual review optimization matters now

[07:20] Black Friday volume surge multipliers

[10:48] Gray area fraud getting harder to spot

[14:32] How queue optimization drives revenue increases

[16:42] Merchant case study pushing approval rates

[21:53] What actually sends orders to manual review

[25:03] Baseline analysis before changing thresholds

[27:59] Score bucket analysis reveals hidden opportunities

[30:14] Real merchant feedback on rule optimization

[34:04] Account age patterns in manual review

[36:23] Order value buckets reveal shipping fraud

[40:05] Black Friday staffing challenges ahead

[42:22] Managing repeat customer false positives

[45:13] Why fraud prevention stays exciting

For merchants heading into peak season, now is the time to run this analysis. You have about a month to test boundaries and find those areas where you can auto-approve more orders. The goal isn't just stopping fraud - it's maximizing revenue while managing risk.

The data shows good traffic increases at much higher rates than fraud during Black Friday week. Fashion sees 4x order volume but fraud rates drop to 37% of normal levels. However, electronics merchants should stay vigilant due to sophisticated fraud rings targeting that vertical.

Queue optimization isn't just about reducing workload for your team during the holidays. It's about capturing more of those first-time customers who are making quick purchasing decisions during limited-time sales events.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera break down a massive Bank of America bin attack hitting e-commerce merchants right now. They reveal why traditional fraud rules are failing and share the exact methodology to identify and combat sophisticated fraud patterns without blocking legitimate customers.

The discussion covers a 20% spike in fraudulent activity targeting Bank of America Visa cards beginning with 440066, with 60% involving guest checkouts and half showing AVS mismatches. Industry experts Paula Zon, Ben Li, Lynne, and others share real-world examples from gift cards to luxury goods.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:46] Y acquisition celebration with Gordon Ramsay

[04:10] Rejected from roundtable discussion

[06:28] Launching fraud fighters Slack channel

[08:12] Fraudcast goes live on podcasts

[09:49] Bank of America bin attack spike

[11:04] Four four zero zero six six bin analysis

[12:45] Experimentation over rigid fraud rules

[16:54] Gift card bin attacks with HSA cards

[21:44] Dark web fraud tutorials and guides

[25:11] Punch Made Dev fraud rap music

[27:14] Rule retirement after ninety days

[31:12] Proton mail and VPN legitimacy shift

[34:26] Multi signal fraud detection approach

[36:44] Sherlock Holmes fraud investigation mindset

Learn why blocking entire bins backfires, how HSA card attacks reveal broader fraud schemes, and why fraud rules lose effectiveness after 90 days. The team introduces their new Slack community for real-time fraud intelligence sharing among e-commerce professionals.

Discover the "Zon technique" for layering fraud signals, understand why VPNs and privacy-focused emails are now legitimate, and get actionable strategies for the upcoming holiday shopping season. This episode provides practical tools for fraud analysts to move beyond simple rules toward sophisticated pattern recognition.

Join the Fraudcast community on Slack and find past episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Every year around Black Friday, Southeast Asian fraud networks launch coordinated attacks on e-commerce sites. This episode reveals the shocking patterns emerging from this $2.3 million fraud scheme and why blocking everything could cost you more than the fraud itself.

Vito Petruzzelli breaks down real data showing how fraudsters are exploiting mobile apps at 10X the rate of web transactions, targeting specific freight forwarding locations in Oregon and New Hampshire, and using predictable email patterns to bypass fraud detection systems.

The key insight: this isn't a binary problem. Rather than throwing away millions in legitimate sales to stop thousands in fraud, merchants need granular customer journey analysis to identify the highest-risk segments while protecting genuine buyers.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[04:50] Southeast Asian fraud spike threatens holiday profits

[06:52] Proxies hide true fraud origins

[08:18] ISPs revealing Southeast Asian attack patterns

[09:09] Email naming conventions expose fraud tactics

[10:15] Linux browser fingerprints signal bot traffic

[12:21] Oregon and New Hampshire shipping targets

[13:05] Supermarkets become freight forwarding fronts

[14:15] New Hampshire cigarette shop warehousing scheme

[16:17] Why blocking Southeast Asian fraud kills profits

[18:06] Mobile app fraud rates spike 10x higher

[19:30] Customer journey analysis reveals low hanging fruit

[23:04] Product team collaboration stops mobile app vulnerabilities

[24:00] Risk appetite beats zero sum blocking

[27:42] Single family homes mask porch pirate operations

[30:46] Hotels become unwitting fraud accomplices

[34:58] Identity resolution tools combat invisible buyers

[40:54] Dark web shopping lists target specific products

The discussion covers practical fraud prevention strategies including how to analyze buyer account age against order channels, why hotels and supermarkets are becoming freight forwarding hubs, and the critical importance of cross-team collaboration between fraud, product, and security teams.

Featuring insights from fraud professionals dealing with everything from bot attacks to dark web shopping lists, this episode provides actionable intelligence for protecting your business during the busiest shopping season.

Subscribe for weekly fraud prevention insights and join the conversation at our live broadcasts every Wednesday.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are coming fast, and most fraud teams aren't prepared for what's about to hit them. AI shopping agents are already placing orders on e-commerce sites, manual review queues are about to get slammed, and outdated decision rules could cost you millions in lost revenue.

Vito Petruzzelli breaks down the three critical areas every fraud team needs to address right now. First, AI agents are already shopping on your site whether you know it or not. He shows you exactly how to identify these bot transactions using specific browser strings and user agent data that most teams completely miss.

The bigger problem? Your mobile app guest checkout could be hemorrhaging money. Real data shows mobile app guest transactions running 168 basis points of gross loss rate compared to just 6 basis points baseline. That's 28x higher fraud rates hiding in plain sight.

Using "Il Metodo" (The Method), inspired by legendary soccer tactics, you can finally turn your overwhelming fraud data into actionable intelligence. This systematic approach helps you identify exactly which traffic segments are costing you money and which false positives you're leaving on the table.

The window for testing is closing fast. With only days left in August, now is the time to run A/B tests on your auto-decision logic, review queue criteria, and approval thresholds. What you learn in the next few weeks will determine whether your holiday season is profitable or painful.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:04] Holiday fraud prep cookbook launch

[04:29] Agent commerce trial year begins

[08:55] Detecting bot traffic with Javascript strings

[13:09] AB testing strategies before Black Friday

[17:20] The Method framework for fraud analysis

[21:04] Order channel performance breakdown reveals losses

[24:58] Mobile app guest checkout disaster zone

[29:38] Agent transaction fraud liability questions

[32:00] Third party manual review success metrics

[38:43] Identity verification with 96% approval rates

[40:09] Manual review teams handle 6x holiday volume

Subscribe for more fraud prevention strategies and risk management insights that help e-commerce teams protect revenue while reducing false positives.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Most fraud prevention teams are trapped in a House of Leaves situation - they have 10, 20, or even more rules running in the background, but 64% have little to no confidence in assessing whether these rules are actually working.

In this episode, Vito Petruzzelli breaks down a simple 5-step process for auditing your existing fraud rules and turning declining orders into revenue opportunities. Using real examples like the "decline all Secaucus, New Jersey orders" rule that was blocking hundreds of thousands of dollars in legitimate transactions, he shows how to identify low-hanging fruit in your rule set.

The conversation covers practical strategies for creating A/B tests with competitor rules, how to present data-driven cases to engineering teams, and why starting with high-impact rules that fire frequently gives you the biggest wins. Ben Li shares insights from conducting bi-annual rule audits, while other participants discuss common pitfalls like accidentally blocking entire email domains or IP addresses from public locations like airports.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:48] Most fraud teams manage 10 plus rules

[05:28] Rules perform decline approve and hold actions

[06:46] 64% lack confidence assessing rule efficacy

[08:00] Start rule audits with inventory assessment

[08:53] Target high impact rules firing frequently

[10:07] Pull recent declined orders for analysis

[11:26] Create competitor rules for AB testing

[14:00] Ben performs bi annual rule audits

[16:11] Weekly versus monthly rule performance reviews

[18:34] Auto approve rules need regular evaluation

[20:08] Time constraints prevent rule abandonment

[22:26] Data beats dates for rule decisions

[23:55] Internal battles for rule implementation resources

[26:02] Stop the bleeding approach works

[28:05] Remove permissions instead of complex fixes

[31:19] IP address blocking catches innocent travelers

[34:10] Device signals vary by attack type

[36:11] Slack chosen for fraud team collaboration

[39:21] Prove value beyond call center operations

The discussion also explores the internal politics of getting rule changes implemented, with Jamie Ceccato and Shelley Soucy sharing war stories about fighting for resources and finding the "path of least resistance" when working with engineering teams.

Whether you're dealing with legacy rules from former employees, unclear rule logic, or simply want to prove your fraud team is more than just a cost center, this episode provides actionable steps to start your rule optimization journey today.

Subscribe for weekly fraud prevention insights and join the Fraudcast community to connect with other risk professionals tackling similar challenges.

In a world filled with endless fraud alerts and chargebacks that make no sense, finding your community becomes more than just networking - it becomes survival. This episode dives deep into the rising threat of first party abuse, formerly known as friendly fraud, which now accounts for 20% of all fraud incidents and is the top concern for 45% of merchants.

Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera from Signifyd host an intimate conversation about building meaningful connections in the fraud prevention space while tackling the hardest challenges facing teams today. The discussion reveals why first party abuse cases are spiking across e-commerce platforms and how fraud teams can turn these seemingly impossible disputes into valuable business intelligence.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:15] Building community in chaotic times

[06:37] Individual challenges in threat intelligence

[10:05] Free fraud prevention event announcement

[15:47] Harry Potter email mishap confession

[17:48] First party abuse statistics revealed

[20:38] Friendly fraud as business insight

[25:32] 23 percent chargeback win rate

[28:30] Revenue optimization over cost center

[31:19] Merchant descriptor changes impact

[32:26] Photo proof delivery investigations

[36:04] Narrative building prevents future fraud

[37:12] Final words and community gratitude

Shelley Soucy shares how her team achieved a remarkable 18% year-over-year reduction in preventable disputes by focusing on cross-departmental communication and process improvements. The conversation explores practical strategies for investigating suspicious chargebacks, from using delivery photos and Google Street View to building compelling dispute narratives.

Jamie Ceccato discusses the challenges of merchant descriptor confusion and how proper communication between sales teams and customers can prevent unnecessary disputes.

Ryan McDonald announces a free industry event focused on threat intelligence and fraud prevention techniques.

The episode emphasizes the importance of viewing first party abuse as a diagnostic tool rather than just a loss recovery opportunity. These incidents often reveal gaps in customer service, shipping carrier performance, product quality issues, or website messaging problems that can be addressed through cross-functional collaboration.

Learn how to transform friendly fraud investigations into business intelligence that drives operational improvements across customer support, logistics, product teams, and marketing communications.

Digital wallets are not created equal.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera dissect the explosive spike in digital wallet fraud hitting merchants right now.

While Apple Pay’s strict biometric verification keeps fraudsters at bay, Google Pay’s lax provisioning rules have led to a shocking fraud rate on its transactions.

Vito and Gena break down how bad actors are rapidly loading stolen credit cards into non-biometric wallets, bypassing legacy fraud detection entirely.

They give you the exact tactical playbook for extracting granular provisioning signals and biometric flags from your payment gateways before AI agents and crypto wallets make the problem worse.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 The Digital Wallet Illusion: Why treating Apple Pay and Google Pay equally is a massive operational failure.

🔹 The Digital Wallet Fraud Spike: How fraudsters are exploiting non-biometric provisioning to launder stolen cards.

🔹 Data Dictionary Demands: How to fight your acquiring bank for the underlying wallet data they are hiding from you.

🔹 Future-Proofing: Navigating the emerging risks of cryptocurrency wallets and stable coins.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro03:22 - Digital wallet fraud explosion04:12 - Stolen credit cards in Google Pay08:33 - Google Pay fraud rate revealed11:22 - Provisioning signals for fraud detection14:42 - Requesting data from payment providers16:25 - Firearms industry digital wallet restrictions18:06 - Biometric authentication flags for disputes23:18 - Payment provider transparency challenges28:36 - Issuing vs acquiring bank dynamics32:27 - Fighting payment provider pushback strategies36:18 - Cryptocurrency wallet fraud risks40:24 - Google Pay disabled due to fraud42:50 - Data dictionary requests from providers47:44 - Next week Jared G hosts48:53 - VAMP threshold violations breaking news

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

🔗 Connect with Gena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gena-rivera/

Fraud teams are accidentally turning into revenue killers.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Gena, Vito and the Fraudcast community tackle one of the industry's biggest blind spots: rule decay.

Almost one in four rule declines are false positives, meaning legacy rules are actively rejecting your best customers.

Gena and Vito reveal why any rule older than 90 days is a prime candidate for retirement or major revision.

The conversation dives deep into practical solutions, from automated sunset processes to preventing manual review bias, featuring insights from practitioners like Renuka Venkatesan, Matthew Blanchard, and Jessica Flores.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 Rule Expiration: Why every fraud rule needs a 90-day sunset clause.

🔹 False Positive Economics: How to calculate the true cost of rejecting good orders.

🔹 Daily Auditing: How Renuka Venkatesan monitors rule performance.

🔹 Cross-Team Collaboration: Why connecting your fraud and chargeback teams reveals critical blind spots.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

02:39 - Ben's TV debut on Yellowstone spinoff

05:40 - Signifyd Slack community highlights

07:50 - Rule decay overview and key insights

09:22 - Rules get old quick problem

10:36 - One in four rule declines are false positives

11:14 - Most teams lack sunset processes

13:07 - 90 day rule expiration recommendation

14:27 - Four considerations for rule audits

16:56 - Immediate action steps for rule management

18:39 - Jessica's rule creation challenges

22:32 - Miss Dee's financial institution tracking advice

23:14 - Matthew's rule refinement strategies

28:16 - Renuka's daily rule monitoring system

34:24 - Avoiding bias in manual review

38:57 - Knowledge preservation challenges

41:37 - Outbound verification call alternatives

47:09 - Preston's charge back team insights

49:46 - Renuka's broadcast community appreciation

52:32 - Final thoughts on rule optimization

🔗 Connect with Gena on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gena-rivera/

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

What if you could start with the answers instead of drowning in spreadsheets when returns fraud hits your business? This episode reveals how AI and large language models can flip your investigation process completely backwards - starting from the headline impact and drilling down to individual bad actors.

Vito Petruzzelli demonstrates a revolutionary approach to returns analysis that cuts through the traditional export-pivot-table nightmare. Instead of getting buried in hundreds of thousands of rows of data while the landscape shifts around you, see how you can instantly identify high-value customers against those responsible for abusive returns.

The conversation digs deep into practical policy enforcement challenges with insights from fraud fighters across different industries. Shelley Soucy shares her battle-tested approach to separating legitimate "dressing room at home" shoppers from malicious actors, including her tiered restock fee strategy and instant refund restrictions.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:37] Why AI prevents analysis paralysis

[06:05] The fraud investigation spreadsheet trap

[11:05] Reframe returns using reverse engineering

[14:53] Customer lifetime value drives decisions

[16:10] Start with headlines not spreadsheets

[18:06] Damaged item patterns reveal logistics issues

[21:30] Finding high dollar return outliers

[24:52] Building workflows for repeat offenders

[28:31] Where to draw bad actor lines

[32:01] Intent matters more than return rates

[34:33] Instant refund thresholds save money

[37:03] Calculating the perfect restock fee

[40:23] Percentage based return fees work better

[44:39] Moving beyond cart approval queues

Matthew Blanchard raises the critical question every business faces - where do you draw the line between good customers and bad actors? The discussion explores percentage-based fees, customer lifetime value calculations, and the psychology behind pricing thresholds that actually work.

Justin Hicken breaks down a sophisticated returns management system, including membership programs that waive return fees for loyal customers while maintaining strict oversight of serial returners.

Learn how to move beyond order-by-order approval decisions and start tackling the bigger revenue optimization opportunities that make you indispensable to leadership. This isn't about becoming better at declining transactions - it's about becoming the strategic problem solver your company needs.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Welcome to 2026 and the brutal reality of post-holiday returns. We're diving deep into the $181 billion problem that's already hit ecommerce this year, with returns spiking 10% higher than last year and nearly 20% of all holiday sales coming back through your door.

Shelley Soucy from Peloton shares her incredible detective work uncovering a $300,000 returns fraud ring, including one customer who returned $275,000 worth of products over 5 years while reselling everything on Poshmark. She walks through the technical glitches fraudsters exploited and the multi-platform solution her team built to catch future abuse.

From bracketers and impulse regret to sophisticated AI-generated damage photos, we cover the full spectrum of returns challenges hitting your business right now. You'll learn about freight forwarding fraud, the economics driving returns abuse, and why your standard operating procedures need serious enforcement upgrades.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[01:52] Holiday break work challenges

[04:17] Medical drama recommendations

[06:39] Freight forwarding fraud tactics

[09:05] Northern Canada fitness fraud

[10:31] Stranger Things finale debate

[12:57] Freight forwarding prevention methods

[16:59] Lululemon fraud expertise joins

[18:38] Returns data requires expert analysis

[20:05] 181 billion holiday returns processed

[22:32] Bracketing drives return abuse

[24:26] Amazon dirt box scam

[26:07] AI generates fake damage photos

[27:38] Standard operating procedures fail

[29:01] Customer lifetime value matters most

[31:49] Shopify glitch exposes fraud ring

[34:04] 275k returns from single address

[36:22] Automated fraud detection parameters

[37:26] Happy accidents reveal fraud patterns

Rinsha Barde from Lululemon joins the conversation with her 10 years of fraud experience across Capital One, T-Mobile, and now retail. Jessica Flores shares her returns challenges at Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply, while Jamie Ceccato discusses the operational nightmare of post-holiday volume spikes.

This isn't just about fraud detection anymore - you're revenue optimizers now. The data-driven approach Shelley demonstrates shows exactly how to quantify losses, build cross-platform solutions, and turn your returns process from a cost center into a competitive advantage.

Whether you're dealing with empty boxes, fake damage claims, or sophisticated reseller networks, this episode gives you the framework to tackle returns fraud systematically while protecting your legitimate customers.

Subscribe for more fraud prevention insights and join our community at signifyd.com to continue the conversation.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Emma Linnane breaks down her unconventional path from radio broadcaster to fraud operations manager, revealing why customer service experience is the secret weapon most fraud fighters are missing.

In this final episode of 2025, Emma shares her proven red box method for winning chargeback disputes, explains how she uses Facebook to catch first-party fraudsters through family connections, and discusses the cultural differences between fraud patterns in America versus Europe.

From her early days getting hit with Visa fines to developing open source investigation techniques that save thousands in chargebacks, Emma demonstrates how understanding the customer experience transforms fraud detection. She reveals why friendly fraud makes up 60-70% of disputes and how proper documentation can flip those outcomes.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:46] Ireland to Boston fraud journey

[08:17] Customer service builds fraud expertise

[11:20] Answer first communication strategy

[14:10] Chargeback hunting becomes career foundation

[16:56] Red boxes face AI disruption

[18:02] Europe versus America fraud differences

[22:05] Cultural bias in customer service

[26:18] Social engineering through kindness works

[30:26] First party fraud detection methods

[33:17] Open source intelligence investigation tactics

[37:00] Chargeback response time allocation

[39:52] Return fraud exceeds payment fraud

[41:06] Floating rock burnout perspective

Emma also discusses the future of fraud fighting in 2026, including the rise of return fraud potentially surpassing payment fraud, how AI will change chargeback representations, and why VAMP guidelines will reshape risk management strategies.

Her closing message reminds us that while fraud work is intense, maintaining perspective on what really matters prevents burnout and keeps teams effective long-term.

Connect with Emma Linnane on LinkedIn to learn more about her fraud fighting techniques and follow Signifyd for more fraud prevention insights.

Subscribe for weekly fraud industry discussions and expert interviews that help you stay ahead of emerging threats.

Connect with Emma on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-linnane-6a7451a9/

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

The post-holiday fraud season is in full swing and fraudsters are getting creative with their attacks. Ecommerce and hospitality businesses are facing sophisticated social engineering schemes where bad actors call customer service pretending to be corporate, manipulate hotel staff into processing fake refunds, and exploit account takeovers to redirect orders to new addresses.

This episode covers the latest fraud trends hitting businesses right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Experts share real cases including a coordinated attack on over 400 Hyatt hotels where scammers convinced night operators to process unmatched refunds totaling thousands of dollars. The discussion reveals how fraudsters are using QQ.com email addresses and specific tactics to bypass fraud filters, particularly targeting high-value items like Lululemon jackets and Apple AirPods.

The conversation dives deep into practical solutions including how one company achieved a 98% chargeback win rate using red boxes and clear documentation, why legal teams are more effective than engineering for implementing fraud prevention measures, and the hidden benefits of 3D Secure for subscription businesses.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:04] Account takeover email hijacking surge

[08:07] Replacement shipping address fraud pattern

[12:26] Corporate impersonation hotel system breach

[16:24] Hospitality social engineering vulnerability training

[20:19] Payment network expertise across verticals

[23:30] Holiday season emotional manipulation tactics

[24:49] QQ email domain fraud spike

[28:08] Package weight verification breakthrough

[32:28] Subscription chargeback defense strategy wins

[36:00] Red box documentation game changer

[41:39] Legal team fraud prevention leverage

[45:47] Three D Secure recurring billing protection

Industry professionals from companies like Signifyd, Peloton, and various hospitality brands share their frontline experiences dealing with account takeovers, subscription fraud, and the emotional manipulation tactics fraudsters use against customer service teams during high-stress periods.

Learn how to protect your business from the evolving fraud landscape and why the traditional approaches to fighting chargebacks are failing.

Subscribe for weekly fraud prevention insights and join the Slack community for real-time fraud intelligence sharing.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Serge El Hachem from Lazer Technologies drops a masterclass on where ecommerce is heading and why your current approach might leave you behind.

The big revelation? Websites as we know them could be extinct in 250 days. Sounds dramatic, but here's what's actually happening. Discovery is shifting from Google searches to AI agents like ChatGPT making product recommendations. Brands that aren't feeding these systems the right data - FAQs, reviews, comparison content - are getting buried while competitors who optimize for AI agents are winning.

Black Friday data revealed something fascinating. Shoppers are spending more money but buying fewer items. It's not just inflation. Consumers are researching harder and choosing quality over quantity. Meanwhile, AI is taking over merchandising decisions, deciding which products get featured and when.

But here's the gap nobody's talking about. AI shopping still has major limitations. You can't build a proper cart, compare multiple products easily, or get that full shopping experience we're used to. People are still opening 50 browser tabs and going back to actual websites to complete purchases.

The winners in this new world will be brands with clear data, clear content, and conversations that convert. And here's the career opportunity - the people who know customers best, who understand their behavior patterns and pain points, are becoming the most valuable players in this AI-driven future.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:42] Building flash websites to ecommerce solutions

[07:02] Why no two brands share identical blueprints

[08:48] AI snake oil versus genuine business value

[10:57] How AI transforms customer discovery patterns

[14:22] Optimizing content for AI agent recommendations

[18:44] Protecting against AI-driven fraud schemes

[24:33] Black Friday reveals spending pattern shifts

[28:00] AI takes control of product merchandising

[32:27] Why shoppers still abandon AI checkouts

[36:08] Websites become the vinyl records

[38:20] Customer knowledge drives commerce success

[40:28] Focus on clear data over AI replacement

Connect with Serge El Hachem:

Email: serge@lazertechnologies.com

Subscribe for more insights on ecommerce fraud prevention and the future of online retail.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

The brutal truth about holiday fraud season nobody wants to admit - it's mentally exhausting, technically challenging, and feels almost inhumane at times. Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera host their weekly fraud prevention community where professionals share real struggles heading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

This pre-Thanksgiving episode captures the raw anxiety fraud fighters experience during peak season. From new platform implementations without proper tools to the psychological pressure of making split-second decisions worth thousands of dollars, the discussion reveals what really happens behind the scenes.

The conversation covers the unique pipeline from emo culture to e-commerce fraud prevention, practical advice for surviving new system rollouts during peak traffic, and why redefining failure is crucial for mental health in this field.

Lynn shares her nervousness about managing holiday traffic on a new platform with minimal fraud tools and staff. Jessica Flores offers support from her similar situation, emphasizing the importance of work-life balance and accepting that no system catches 100% of fraud.

Shelley discusses letting systems fail deliberately to prove the need for better tools, documenting manual processes to show leadership the true cost of inadequate fraud prevention infrastructure.

The group explores how artificial intelligence and automation are changing fraud prevention roles, with participants sharing their plans for adapting to new technologies while maintaining the human element that customers increasingly value.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[01:32] Building community in fraud fighting

[02:58] Gratitude for unexpected fraud careers

[04:57] Handling Cyber Monday stress

[06:06] Fraud work feels inhumane sometimes

[09:34] New platform anxiety for holidays

[10:43] Managing sleepless fraud nights

[12:03] Redefining failure in fraud work

[15:37] Letting systems fail proves value

[18:32] Nobody pays attention to mistakes

[21:20] People never stop being people

[24:57] Being present during chaos

[28:18] Professional evolution in 2026

[30:36] Confidence in higher learning matters

[33:29] Blending automation with human abilities

[35:19] Letting go of outdated expertise

[38:43] One year anniversary reflections

Subscribe for weekly fraud prevention insights and join the community discussion every Wednesday.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Address manipulation is one of the most overlooked fraud tactics hitting ecommerce businesses today. Fraudsters use sophisticated techniques to bypass velocity checks and denial lists by creating dozens of variations of the same address, exploiting your systems while still getting their packages delivered.

This episode breaks down the most common address manipulation schemes including velocity evasion, denial list bypassing, collusion indicators, and phone agent exploitation. Learn why pre-purchase address cleaning actually hurts your fraud detection and discover the post-purchase normalization strategy that reveals hidden fraud networks.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:09] Address manipulation as fraud art form

[04:44] Why fraudsters manipulate shipping addresses

[05:57] Getting around velocity checks easily

[07:19] Bypassing address denial lists completely

[08:58] Geographic spoofing with nearby addresses

[09:56] Collusion tactics in drop shipping

[11:23] Compromising phone and chat agents

[13:50] Post purchase normalization prevents friction

[17:38] Google Address Validation API costs

[20:31] Fuzzy matching logic explained simply

[22:45] Signifyd already handles address normalization

[25:40] College campus mule operations

[29:01] White Pages Pro validates residents

[32:01] Returns fraud using address manipulation

[36:25] Fedex label manipulation for refunds

The discussion covers real-world examples from fraud professionals dealing with everything from apartment complex schemes to return fraud manipulation. Discover how criminals use portmanteau addresses to trick customer service agents and why focusing on supporting signals rather than the address itself leads to better fraud prevention.

Join fraud prevention professionals sharing battle-tested strategies for staying ahead of evolving address manipulation tactics while maintaining a smooth customer experience.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Digital transformation doesn't have to be scary when you approach it the right way.

Nirav Sheth, Chairman of Anatta, breaks down how ecommerce brands can scale from 50 million to 100 million and beyond without hitting the dreaded growth ceiling that stops most companies cold.

This conversation reveals why most digital transformation projects fail and how to flip the script by focusing on business cases instead of technical features. You'll discover the real-world tactics that work for omnichannel experiences, from handling online returns in physical stores to using AI tools that actually make sense.

The discussion covers practical fraud prevention strategies, customer service automation that doesn't alienate customers, and why your team needs autonomy to delight customers. Plus, you'll learn the specific workflows that get product companies to actually build the features you need.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[04:16] Why DTC brands keep growing

[08:29] Digital transformation growth spurts scare teams

[12:02] Fear kills organizational change initiatives

[15:00] Tech enables better fraud detection

[19:47] Customer identity powers retail experiences

[24:58] CTOs prioritize security over features

[29:52] Physical meets digital return challenges

[35:25] Chargeback prevention through customer service

[42:02] Internal teams need tech enablement

[47:40] Business cases beat technical arguments

Connect with Nirav Sheth on LinkedIn and learn more about Anatta at anatta.io

Join the Fraudcast community Slack channel for ongoing discussions with ecommerce fraud and risk professionals. Scan the QR code shown in the episode or check the description for the invite link.

Subscribe for weekly conversations with industry experts who are solving the real challenges facing ecommerce teams today. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

The haunting specter of triangulation fraud is hitting major merchants hard this holiday season. Three players create the perfect storm - an innocent buyer seeking deals on marketplaces, a fraudster selling products they don't own, and a stolen credit card victim who gets hit with the chargeback.

Here's how it works: A legitimate shopper finds your product listed below retail price on a marketplace. When they buy it, the fraudster uses a stolen credit card to purchase that same item from your actual store, shipping it directly to the buyer using their contact information. The buyer gets their discounted product in official packaging, but when the real cardholder sees the charge, they file a chargeback that lands on your merchant account.

The warning signs are clear - marketplace listings under your retail price, sellers with few reviews or reviews for unrelated products, international shipping locations, and sponsored listings designed to appear first in search results.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:52] Triangulation fraud schemes targeting major merchants

[06:36] Dark triangle fraud explained simply

[08:42] How legitimate buyers get scammed unknowingly

[10:08] Spotting triangulation fraud marketplace red flags

[12:04] Call stolen card holders directly

[14:21] Contact buyers who received stolen goods

[18:42] Incentivize direct website purchases over marketplaces

[24:31] Card testing targets higher value products

[26:48] Gift cards see 10,000 order spikes

[28:36] Quarter of good traffic uses VPNs

[30:09] Second look recovers declined revenue

[32:15] Free decline traffic evaluation offer

[34:24] Fraudster manipulates customer service for refunds

[37:37] AI generates convincing refund requests

[40:01] Marketplace AI blocks legitimate fraud reports

Card testing has evolved beyond cheap items. With checker services disappearing, fraudsters now target products between 15 and 30 dollars. One merchant saw a 25 dollar gift card go from 5 orders per week to over 10,000 in a single day. Meanwhile, legitimate VPN usage has jumped from 11% to over 25% of good traffic, forcing risk teams to reconsider their proxy-based rules.

The second look strategy offers massive potential. Taking declined orders and having them evaluated outside your data silo can recover 20 to 45 percent of falsely declined transactions. These recovered orders complete without chargebacks, turning your decline bucket into a revenue opportunity.

The Fraudcast community shares real experiences with triangulation schemes, from marketplace sellers manipulating return tracking to fraudsters using AI-generated customer service requests. Legal teams are successfully shutting down marketplace accounts when merchants document the fraud properly and contact both the cardholder and the recipient.

For merchants dealing with these attacks during the busy season, the key is knowing your products, monitoring volume spikes, and not being afraid to pick up the phone. When you call the person who received the item, they'll often admit they bought it from a marketplace at a discount, giving you the evidence needed to take action.

Connect with other fraud professionals dealing with these same challenges in our Slack community where the conversation continues beyond these weekly sessions.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Account takeover attacks have surged 40% over the past year, as bad actors increasingly target loyalty points and stored payment methods.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera tackle one of e-commerce's fastest-growing threats.

They break down how fraudsters are spinning up typosquatting domains and exploiting accounts that have been dormant for over a year.

Vito shares six empirical signals you can use to fingerprint account takeover attempts, including tracking password reset timing and measuring device fingerprint "lie counts".

Katarina, Thomas, Deanne, and Shelley also share real-world challenges covering everything from fake police reports to freight forwarding schemes.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 Dormant Account Danger: Why inactive accounts represent 92% of ATO fraud.

🔹 The "Lie Count" Metric: How device fingerprinting discrepancies expose deliberate obfuscation.

🔹 Tactical Defense: Using pre-discount order amounts and SMS friction to block bad actors.

🔹 NPS Manipulation: How fraud rings are gaming customer satisfaction scores to hide their tracks.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

02:29 - Account Takeover Fraud Rising 40 Percent

05:36 - Loyalty Points and Stored Value Under Attack

08:12 - Death of Single Signal Supremacy

11:05 - 148 Typosquat Domains Found for One Brand

13:45 - 6 Key Signals to Fingerprint ATO

17:46 - PayPal Hit Hard by Account Takeovers

20:24 - Fake Police Reports and Chargeback Challenges

26:29 - Pre Discount Order Amount Strategy

29:00 - 80 Orders Per IP During ATO Attacks

33:02 - Adding Friction Without Hurting NPS

36:23 - Freight Forwarding Address Problems

40:52 - Free ATO Analysis Consultation Offer

44:00 - Gift Card Fraud Ring Tactics

46:02 - Next Week Preview on Gift Cards

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Traditional fraud tools are officially failing.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Gena and Vito dissect a massive fraud ring out of Connecticut that bypassed legacy verification systems entirely.

By hijacking an account that had been dormant for 879 days, fraudsters unleashed 11 rapid-fire orders using the exact same credit card.

Because the AVS and CVV matched perfectly, rule-based models let the attacks right through.

Vito breaks down how behavioral analytics caught what traditional tools missed, highlighting critical signals like device hopping, IP switching, and resale arbitrage patterns.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 The Connecticut Case: Why perfect AVS matches are fraud's best friend.

🔹 Behavioral Drift: Spotting the difference between good customers and bad actors switching devices mid-session.

🔹 Telegram Intelligence: Using tools like Scope Now to safely investigate the dark web.

🔹 Strategic Friction: Why wiping stored payment cards is a highly effective defense.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

03:37 - Gratitude and Community Engagement

04:01 - Matthew's Conference Speaking Experience

08:03 - Connecticut Fraud Ring Discovery

09:08 - Behavioral Analytics Over AVS Matching

14:29 - Account Takeover and Telegram Channels

16:51 - Scope Now for Fraud Investigation

23:01 - AVS Limitations and Chargeback Challenges

26:37 - Customer Verification Phone Tactics

28:41 - 3D Secure Implementation Benefits

31:10 - Address Verification System Nuances

35:13 - International Orders Without AVS

38:33 - Selective Friction Implementation Strategies

40:03 - Justin's Travel Updates

41:27 - Community Growth and Team Building

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

While the industry panics about future AI bots, the real threat is draining wallets right now.

We are broadcasting live from the floor of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC) 2026 conference in Las Vegas.

In this episode, Gena and Vito cut through the hype to address the $86 billion consumer scam crisis that is destroying brand trust before customers even reach your checkout page.

It is time to reframe how we think about the manual review queue.

Fraud analysts aren't being replaced—they are being upgraded. Vito breaks down how elite fraud leaders are pivoting their teams away from repetitive transactional decisions and turning them into strategic threat intelligence hunters.

By using AI tools like Claude to handle the heavy lifting of brand protection, human analysts are freed up to investigate complex false positives and build critical relationships across the business.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 The $86B Crisis: Why consumer scams are your problem, even if they happen off-platform.

🔹 The AI Pivot: How to use Claude to automate dark web sweeps, catch typosquatting, and issue takedowns.

🔹 The Analyst Upgrade: Reappropriating human talent for strategic thinking rather than manual busywork.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro: Live from the Floor of MRC Vegas '26

05:15 - The $86 Billion Consumer Scam Crisis

12:30 - Why Nobody is Seeing a Wave of AI Agent Traffic Yet

21:45 - The Evolution of the Manual Review Queue

32:10 - Using Claude for Threat Intelligence & Brand Protection

41:20 - Becoming the Ultimate Fraud Educator for Your Network

48:20 - Outro: The Next Generation of Risk Teams

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Are you tired of hearing that AI bots are going to ruin e-commerce? So are we.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Vito Petruzzelli sits down with Jonathon Hope, Head of Product at Kasada, to cut through the hype and deliver a pragmatic, actionable guide to preparing for Agentic Commerce. They discuss how to actually see the AI traffic hitting your site and how to differentiate a helpful shopping assistant from a malicious script.

The duo explains why you don't have to choose between security and discovery. By implementing smart governance, you can allow AI agents to index your products while keeping your checkout and login endpoints strictly secured. This episode is your blueprint for navigating the future of retail without the panic.

Key Takeaways:

• Visibility First: How to read headers and identify true AI traffic.
• Smart Governance: Strategies for allowing product discovery while blocking automated account creation or checkout.
• The Reality Check: Why the transition to full Agentic Commerce is a multi-year evolution, giving you time to prepare.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Intro: Welcome to The Fraudcast
04:00 - Introducing Jonathon Hope & The Agentic Commerce Reality
07:10 - Identifying AI Agents vs. Spoofed Headers
11:20 - Visibility 101: What Even is a Header?
18:00 - How AI Traffic Impacts Account Takeovers (ATO)
22:30 - The Governance Strategy: Allowing Search vs. Allowing Checkout
34:00 - How to Start Controlling Your AI Traffic Today
42:10 - Prompt Injection Risks and the Future of AI Browsers
46:40 - Outro: You Are the Vanguard of Agentic Commerce

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

🔗 Connect with Jonathon Hope on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathonhope/

What happens when cybercriminals figure out how to trick the banks before they even trick the merchant?

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Vito Petruzzelli dissects a massive, highly coordinated attack where fraudsters stole nearly $300,000 in luxury handbags in just 48 hours.

Joined by fraud fighters Jessica Flores, De'Airra Belcher, Jared Gruenberg, Paula Zon, Matthew Blanchard, and more, the team breaks down the exact mechanics of this new threat. We uncover how bad actors are actively calling banks to change billing addresses (making stolen cards pass AVS perfectly) and using remote-access social engineering to hijack devices.

More importantly, the panel drops a massive revelation: If you are paying for Account Takeover (ATO) chargebacks, you might be getting scammed twice. We reveal the specific Visa and Mastercard reason codes that prove banks are actually liable for these losses—not merchants.

Key Takeaways:

• The anatomy of the $300K luxury proxy-IP scam.
• How to spot a "perfect" address match when the victim is in another state.
• How to use Visa/Mastercard rules to push back on invalid ATO chargebacks.

Join the "Fraudcast" Community:Want the cheat sheets, PDF breakdowns, and tactical resources mentioned in these episodes? We don't put them behind corporate landing pages—we drop them directly to our community.

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn to access the Masterclass resources:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Shelley Soucy went from serving food at Disney World to becoming one of the most skilled fraud investigators in e-commerce. Her journey reveals the unexpected skills that translate from high-pressure restaurant work to conducting hundreds of fraud interviews.

In this conversation, Shelley breaks down her transition from Disney's Magic Kingdom restaurants to managing loss prevention at Peloton. She explains how working in chaos taught her to stay calm under pressure, why she approaches every interview like a human conversation, and the mindset shifts that helped her excel in a field where validation is rare.

Shelley discusses the reality of working in fraud prevention—from dealing with Monday morning quarterbacks to explaining opportunity costs to executives who prefer revenue promises over loss prevention. She shares practical advice on building confidence, asking for feedback, and why treating people with respect matters even in difficult conversations.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

02:25 - From English lit to Disney restaurants

03:44 - The career pivot that changed everything

05:32 - Teaching interview skills vs domain knowledge

08:15 - Restaurant chaos builds unshakeable confidence

11:22 - Chaos is what you make of it

13:27 - Learning through active listening and feedback

17:05 - Fighting impostor syndrome with self belief

20:44 - Disney to e-commerce fraud transition

24:25 - Learning fraud prevention bite by bite

28:43 - Fraud teams never get external validation

33:32 - Steeling yourself against Monday morning quarterbacks

39:18 - Teaching marketing teams to think like fraudsters

41:37 - Five percent fraud loss is expected not acceptable

46:25 - Doing the right thing without recognition

49:33 - Be the loudest voice in the room

The Chaos Superpower:

The discussion covers active listening techniques, the fraud triangle concept, and Shelley’s amazing career journey. She explains how restaurant experience at Disney prepared her for investigative work and why chaos management became her superpower.

🔗 Connect with Shelley Soucy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleysoucy/

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

The reality of agentic commerce in 2025 is nothing like the hype promised. While everyone expected AI shopping agents to revolutionize Black Friday and Cyber Monday with 10-20% of traffic, what actually happened was a massive spike in AI search referrals, not autonomous purchasing.

Vito Petruzzelli breaks down why agent commerce conversion rates remain terrible, taking 30+ minutes for simple purchases that often get declined by fraud systems anyway. The real story is how search behavior has fundamentally shifted - consumers now use ChatGPT to find deals and get referred to merchant sites, rather than having bots make purchases for them.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:42] Hollywood’s Ben Li

[04:31] Miss Dee challenges customer service thinking

[05:45] Fraud companies face duplication concerns

[07:12] Weekly fraud risk discussion format

[09:02] Agent commerce reality check begins

[11:14] Eating crow on AI hype

[12:11] Moltbook AI bots create existential crisis

[14:30] Robots hire humans for tasks

[16:03] Agent commerce theory versus reality

[18:40] Cooper Flagg jersey purchase fails

[20:32] The one Fraudcast episode you have to go back and listen to

[21:05] Referral traffic spikes thirteen times

[22:30] ChatGPT dominates AI search referrals

[25:40] Discoverability challenges for merchants

[26:12] Search patterns fundamentally shift away

[31:31] Machine learning evaluates AI signals

[35:07] Payment instruments determine everything, ultimately

[38:53] Eight questions cross entire company

[43:05] Manual review tags agent orders

[45:07] Victim assisted fraud on steroids

[47:12] Sleepy robot callers spotted

[49:34] Granular segmentation provides fraud protection

[51:22] Next week’s special guest runs a school of communications

The episode reveals the technical hurdles still blocking agent commerce, from PCI compliance issues to the challenges of exposing product catalogs to AI scrapers. Vito demonstrates how ChatGPT dominates AI referral traffic while other platforms like Claude and Gemini barely register.

For fraud professionals, this means understanding new signals like unusual screen resolutions, hosting IPs from Virginia data centers, and bot strings in device APIs. The conversation covers how to segment this traffic, run A/B tests through manual review, and prepare for a world where discovery happens through AI agents even if purchasing remains manual.

The discussion includes practical advice on testing your own website with ChatGPT's agent mode, identifying the signals these orders create, and building internal conversations around the eight critical questions every company needs to answer about agent commerce readiness.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Banking fraud specialist De'Airra Belcher joins the Fraudcast community of experts to expose the hidden vulnerabilities in gift card systems and return policies that fraudsters exploit daily. From embedded gift cards at Dollar Tree to sophisticated return abuse schemes, this conversation reveals the shocking gaps between different industries that bad actors use to their advantage.

De'Airra brings 10 years of banking experience and 5 years in fraud prevention, sharing her expertise in pattern recognition and her mission to break down the silos that enable fraud across industries. The discussion covers everything from gift card tampering and social engineering targeting elderly victims to the real-world case of a customer who used return policies to game the system.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[01:09] Breaking down banking fraud silos

[03:21] Hidden gift card tampering schemes

[05:26] Open loop products fuel scams

[09:18] Gift card draining prevention tactics

[12:02] Why intentional disruption drives change

[15:33] Fraudsters broadcast their own playbooks

[18:06] Open source intelligence gathering methods

[26:36] Real world return abuse patterns

[32:13] Withholding instant refunds stops abuse

[36:46] Aggressive customers target support teams

[37:51] Call center training prevents policy erosion

[43:53] Legacy thinking perpetuates fraud vulnerabilities

[44:23] Customer satisfaction scores enable abuse

[45:09] Why customers are never always right

Paula from the gift card industry provides insider knowledge on open loop products, PCI compliance, and the evolution toward chip-enabled cards by 2027. Ryan McDonald from ScopeNow demonstrates how fraudsters openly share their methodologies on social media and dark web forums, turning their own bragging into actionable intelligence for fraud prevention teams.

The conversation also tackles the systemic issues in customer service training that inadvertently enable fraud, including how satisfaction scores and commission structures incentivize representatives to bypass security policies. Shelly challenges the outdated "customer is always right" mentality, arguing that some customers act purely in their own interests regardless of business impact.

The episode concludes with practical strategies for fraud prevention teams to collaborate with legal departments, update legacy policies, and implement data-driven approaches to return fraud detection. Learn how one merchant stopped instant refunds for suspicious customers and maintained loyalty while eliminating abuse.

Subscribe for more fraud prevention insights and join the conversation in our Slack community.

Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

Fraud teams are no longer just fighting chargebacks; they are battling sophisticated logistics rings and AI-powered returns abuse.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Vito Petruzzelli and Gena Rivera bring on John Mayover, Senior Manager of Ecommerce Fraud and Compliance at URBN.

John reveals how he accidentally started his 16-year fraud career by solving a puzzle at a bank, leading him to uncover massive operations like the "Cousin Network"—an insider-threat ring at a FedEx hub.

The conversation dives deep into the post-pandemic explosion of returns fraud. John details how bad actors are exploiting "keep it" policies and using AI-generated scripts to socially engineer customer service reps.

He also outlines his "Five Families" framework, proving why cross-departmental unity is the only way to stop modern ecommerce fraud.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 The Cousin Network: Uncovering a sophisticated supply chain theft ring involving insider logistics help.

🔹 Returns Abuse Tactics: How fraudsters use dollar-store shirts and iron-on logos to scam generous return policies.

🔹 The AI Threat Reality: Why shopping bots aren't the primary concern for fashion retail, but AI-driven social engineering is.

🔹 The Five Families: Uniting fraud, customer service, warehouse, supply chain, and tech to close communication gaps.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro

03:45 - Accidental fraud career discovery

05:11 - Bank puzzle solving breakthrough

08:37 - Building fraud programs from scratch

10:38 - First major fraud scheme uncovered

12:25 - Cousin conspiracy at Fedex hubs

14:23 - Returns abuse explosion post pandemic

16:45 - Five families collaboration strategy

18:21 - Tech team builds custom dashboards

21:27 - Stakeholder relationship building tactics

24:00 - Technology gaps in fraud detection

26:34 - Systems integration success story

28:36 - Handling rejection and pushback

31:27 - AI commerce current fraud impact

32:36 - Social media monitoring operations

36:21 - Subscription model fraud patterns

38:55 - Future fraud evolution predictions

Join the Fraudcast Ecosystem:

🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitopetruzzelli/

🔗 Connect with Gena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gena-rivera/

🔗 Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mayover-bb2a33102/

You are likely losing more money to your own fraud rules than to actual fraudsters.

In this episode of The Weekly Fraudcast, Gena Rivera and Stingray Fraud Intelligence founder Jared Gruenberg dissect the most expensive problem in e-commerce: false positives.\

Jared reveals the shocking math behind overly aggressive fraud controls, explaining why false positives cost 4.5x more than actual fraud losses, and why 38% of wrongfully declined buyers never return.

The conversation exposes exactly where AI models fail—struggling with context around college campus addresses, "Buy Online, Pick Up In Store" (BOPIS) orders, and prepaid cards used by the unbanked.

Jared outlines why the human analyst is still the ultimate defense, and how fixing the communication gap between customer service and risk teams can rescue your top-line revenue.

👇 WHAT WE COVER:

🔹 The False Positive Multiplier: Why turning away a legitimate customer damages revenue and long-term brand equity.

🔹 AI's Blind Spots: The specific address normalization issues that cause AI to flag legitimate drop-shipping and university deliveries.

🔹 The Customer Service Disconnect: How broken feedback loops hide false positive patterns from your risk team.

🔹 The Unbanked Dilemma: How standard fraud rules actively discriminate against 25% of Americans relying on prepaid cards.

⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

02:28 - Jared's fraud journey from behavioral health to live stream auctions

06:06 - Childhood fascination with infomercials and early fraud detection instincts

10:48 - False positives problem hurts good customers more than fraud itself

14:21 - Casio watch false positive terrorism example from 9/11 era

17:55 - Why false positives happen and analyst turnover challenges

20:22 - False positives cost 4.5x more than actual fraud losses

22:53 - Shelley's apparel return abuse investigation false positive nightmare

25:14 - Jamie's customer service feedback loop struggles with false positives

32:46 - Two sided marketplace false positive communication strategies

36:01 - AI vs manual review debate for reducing false positives

40:27 - College campus addresses trigger AI false positive flags

41:10 - Buy online pickup in store creates major AI confusion

44:51 - Shelley's personal Samsung watch auto decline frustration experience

46:25 - FedEx address normalization solution for AI street abbreviation issues

49:48 - University private mailbox AI detection problems explained

51:07 - Drop shipping distributor model creates legitimate transaction red flags

🔗 Connect with Gena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gena-rivera/

🔗 Connect with Jared on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredgruenberg/