Day in the Life of a Fraud Investigator and Analyst 

Wishing you the best!

Your employed? Sounds like you just need more years of experience.

Thanks so much 🙏 I actually made a similar transition in my career. Having a cyber background really helped me navigate device and IP data. This covers the majority of third party fraud. The one thing I would recommend is start looking into how data is reported through the credit bureau to help combat synthetic identity fraud (first party fraud). If you’re able to determine first vs third party fraud in a case, you’ll be ahead of 80% of the people who work in fraud!

It’s sometimes up to a billion 👀 There are definitely cases where we can’t find the culprit, but leave notes on suspicious accounts in case there is a repeat event. 3 months is typically the average range for a manual investigation, but there are tools that allow us to cross-examine transactions for up to 3 years!

I’m so sorry to hear that Javier. Having a credit card compromised is a very stressful event. Fortunately, banks are required to cover this type of loss. Unfortunately, you may be waiting for some time for your new card and in general is very frustrating. To answer your question, on the initial two posted charges, banks often don’t want to restrict your spending even on a big purchases. I’m assuming based on the velocity it was an online transaction. If the fraudster were to correctly fill out all the information, the bank would likely approved. Now, my guess for the 22 consecutive pending charges is that the fraudster was attempting to guess your CVV code which is called a credit master attack. Credit master attacks often involve hundreds and possibly thousands of credit cards, so eventually the bank would have probably got it, but unfortunately these types of attacks are hard to stop

Hey! Super glad to hear you are interested. One thing that you can do is to work for a larger company in their fraud prevention customer service. This might give you that initial experience you need to take it to the next step with investigations

I would say as a fraud investigator it’s quite the opposite of repetitive. While you might do similar investigation tactics each fraud case is quite different!

The answer is that it really depends! Background experience and education can really be a driver. For me, it took me about a year as a consultant and then transition to a fraud data analyst and investigator.

If you’re looking to get a role, background in operations, data analytics, or finance can be a huge advantage.

Congrats! My number 1 tip would be to really understand your data before you start a case. Large scale fraud typically has something fishy going on with the address and device data

How did you enter this? I am considering doing this but don't know where to start. Did you take some courses or get a certificate?

​@@naev.3344 so there are a few ways that can help you enter the fraud investigation space. ACFE is a great place to start. They have several helpful resources such as mentoring, discussion forums, and events. There is a CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) certification. Yet this is more widely recognized for those in accounting.

@@naev.3344@naev.3344 One thing I would highly recommend is reaching out to fraud analysts or fraud investigators via LinkedIn. People in fraud are almost ALWAYS happy to talk about what they do and some of the stories they have experienced in their role. They can also let you know if their institution has any openings. Most banks for these types of roles hire through referrals (how I was hired 😁)

Thanks for this information! I want to start a new career where I can investigate without exactly becoming a police officer/detective. This sounds interesting and hopefully can give me the stability I am looking for.@@FraudFi

Wishing you the best 🙏

Good luck

They are all so different. That’s what makes it fun for me! One public platform you can use is Twilio for phone verification. Card skimming is all about going backwards. Finding a common merchant, usually by particular MCC codes, will help you pinpoint which merchants you need to talk to

​@@FraudFi1 w

Bro someone scammed me could plz help me i am from india. I cant complient bcz i am not 18. Could u plz help me

@@FraudFiI’m a sales consultant for a big fraud and financial crime solutions vendor (analytics, case management). I’m curious your take on the software tools and systems you use to investigate. Do you have a long wish list of features wish your primary alert and case management system had? Do you feel like you have to step outside of that system too often to do research? Does the information provided in the alert get you 80% of the way to a decision, and the other 20% you have to find externally? Is it more like 50/50? Does it depend on the type of fraud? Do you have favorite vendors?

Check out Reddit and LinkedIn groups like fraud prevention specialists. Best of luck!

Great question! Typically pay goes up based on how technical you are. Without a technical background: $50k to $80k Technical background: $75k to $125k If you are looking to get into a role like this I would suggest learning SQL and python

thanks for reply this is really helpful@@FraudFi

@@NIKITAADITYAJAIN - of course! Happy to help :)

Sounds like you are off to a great start @MMP_Alex. My recommendation is that you learn some basic excel and SQL skills. These are two things are often used in banks! Then I would recommend reaching out to other fraud investigators to ask for an informational interview. This should help get your foot in the door.

@@FraudFi sounds good! Thank you!

Hi, hello, I'm Shirley. I'm a volunteer in the anti-fraud center today. Now I'll share some basic knowledge about investment fraud with you, so as to prevent you from being cheated because you don't understand.

Happy you enjoyed the video 😊 The CFE requires to 2 years of fraud work experience to take the certification. If you have a similar work experience, I would definitely try to sit for the exam. Regardless, signing up for the membership brings some great perks like mentorship opportunities that can help you land a roll!

I've seen this vary, but it is often a full-time role for generalists. Once you adapt to a niche, you may get hired as a subject matter expert for higher rates.

FBI is always looking for accountants/forensic accountants all the time on their website, definitely would be beneficial to have CFE

CFE can definitely help you stand out here 🙌

Are you also interested in being a volunteer?

Thanks so much! CAMS is an excellent certification. If you want to dive into AML, CAM is the way to go. If you are looking to get more into fraud, check out CFE!

Hello, I am a volunteer in the anti-fraud center. You can also ask me about money laundering.

Of course! If there anything you would like to know about fraud, LMK! Recording some new videos soon :)

Great questions. The most important factor in the CFE is having 2 years of fraud experience. Then you receive points for each year of schooling and professional certifications and credentials.

If I were you and you had 2 years of fraud experience, I would apply!