Fraudology Podcast with Karisse Hendrick

Welcome back to Fraudology.

Since I’ve been back from SardineCon, I’ve thought about how much faster and cheaper AI is making fraud. That thread runs through basically everything I’m covering today. I’m digging into a new report from Inscribe showing a 4X increase in AI generated documents. I’ll walk through the difference between a document that’s built entirely by AI and one that’s a real document with AI alterations. Because they are not the same problem.

Then we will go deep on a digital arrest scam, and this is the one I r...

Welcome back to Fraudology.

I have to tell you I’m genuinely excited about this one. Today’s guest was highly recommended by Matt Vega, someone whose opinion I trust completely in this industry. By the time we finally hit record, we’d already been talking for 45 minutes off air. That’s a pretty good sign this episode is going to deliver.

Cy Khormaee spent years at Google, building out what eventually became the company’s user protection platform and the technology that now runs quietly in the background protecting billions of devices worldwide from phishing a...

Welcome back to Fraudology.

Today's a solo episode built around a study that puts a real number on something fraud leaders have been debating for years: does organizational convergence for fraud actually move the needle on performance, or is it just an org chart trend?

For years, we've all benchmarked ourselves the same way. Approval rate here, chargeback rate there, maybe a manual review rate if we're being thorough. But the problem I've seen play out in company after company is this: optimize your approval rate, and your chargeback rate quietly creeps up. Optimize your...

Welcome back to Fraudology.

This week I’m joined by Dave G., who spent years investigating money laundering, wire fraud, and scams before moving into e-commerce and, eventually, directly into crypto. Dave was on the ground floor of Bitcoin back when the white paper first came out, and he brings a rare vantage point on stablecoin fraud risk as someone who has watched a payment technology evolve from a niche curiosity into the backbone of a real conversation about agentic commerce.

We start with a story that sets the tone for the whole conversation. It de...

In this episode, I'm sitting down with Tal Yeshanov. Someone I've known for a very long time in this industry, and one of the sharpest risk leaders I know. Tal's path into fraud started almost by accident at Google and YouTube. Then took her through building fraud programs at Eventbrite, before its IPO, and Uber during its earliest hockey-stick growth years. Tal has spent her career building holistic fraud detection systems from scratch, in industries where there was no playbook to follow.

For years, fraud teams operated off a snapshot. Device at checkout. IP at checkout. Did...

Welcome back to Fraudology.

Every once in a while I come across a report that makes me stop what I was planning to talk about because it's just that important. This is one of those weeks.

Matt Vega recently released his quarterly fraud report 2026, and after reading it, I knew we needed to break it down together. Not because it's predicting what might happen next year. Because every attack covered in this report is already happening.

One of the biggest themes running through the report is that fraud is simply moving faster than...

Welcome back to Fraudology.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Mark Porteous, a longtime leader in e-commerce fraud and trust who knows two-sided marketplaces from the inside out. Mark spent nine years at StockX, where he started in customer support before building the company’s fraud program from the ground up. And honestly, that is one of the best ways to learn marketplace fraud prevention because you see the customer complaints, the chargebacks, the seller issues, the account problems, and the policy gaps before anybody has officially decided they belong to a fraud team.

We...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive debrief following the massive shifts in the world of artificial intelligence and digital fraud. Karisse shares her highlights and lowlights from navigating the industry's rapid evolution, cutting through the future-looking hype to provide practical insights for fraud and payments professionals.

The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of Agentic AI in commerce, detailing how partnerships like the new Visa and OpenAI infrastructure are designed to make AI commerce a reality. Karisse provides an inside look at why OpenAI previously shelved its original agentic project to avoid becoming a...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick sits down with Hailey Windham, Community Lead for Banking at Sardine and host of the Fraud Forward podcast. Hailey shares her journey transitioning from a practitioner at community financial institutions to the vendor side, focusing entirely on providing practical, operational insights for credit unions and community bank fraud teams.

The conversation explores the highly anticipated June 2026 updated guidance from FinCEN regarding Section 314B of the USA Patriot Act. Hailey breaks down how this new fact sheet eliminates long-standing confusion and regulatory fears, giving financial institutions a robust legal framework to...

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick cuts through the AI noise to analyze the critical fraud news and regulatory developments impacting the industry today. Inspired by conversations with Merchant Fraud Alliance ambassadors, Karisse separates empty hype from actionable intelligence to help fraud and payments professionals better protect their organizations.

The episode kicks off with a personal story: a real-time "fraud phone a friend" scenario involving a reissued credit card that suffered an enumeration attack (card testing) before it was even activated. Karisse breaks down the mechanics of modern BIN enumeration attacks. How fraudsters leverage AI...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive debrief following her long-awaited conversation with Kathy Stokes, the Senior Director of Fraud Prevention for AARP. Kathy shares her highlights and lowlights from leading the Fraud Watch Network, cutting through the general consumer education hype to provide practical insights for fraud and payments professionals.

The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of fraud victimization in commerce, detailing how organizations like AARP are now identifying systemic vulnerabilities by monitoring "invisible" behaviors, such as how society naturally blames the victims of these crimes. Kathy provides an inside look at why...

**To sign up for the VAMP Webinar, June 16 at 1pm ET:

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In this solo episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick breaks down a potpourri of recent fraud news stories that are shaking up both the retail and banking sectors. Karisse exposes how organized crime rings are shifting their tactics to outsmart even the tightest security frameworks, highlighting why continuous adaptation is the only defense in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

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In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick welcomes back Marc Evans, a veteran Las Vegas detective and the founder of Fraud Hero. Marc provides an on-the-ground debrief of the rapidly shifting fraud landscape, sharing front-line insights into how criminal organizations are pivoting their tactics as traditional cash-out methods vanish.

The conversation explores the dramatic downfall of major crypto ATM networks, highlighted by the recent bankruptcy of Bitcoin Depot, the country's largest operator. Marc details how local regulations and strict transaction caps have inadvertently decimated the crypto ATM business model , proving just how much of their revenue...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick comes to you from a beachside work-cation in Florida to deliver an essential debrief on the latest shifts in the e-commerce fraud landscape. Fresh off the Accertify Global Customer Summit, Karisse shares key strategic takeaways on why cybersecurity and fraud teams must break down operational silos as fraud signals increasingly move up-funnel.

The conversation takes a critical look at the limitations of relying on Large Language Models (LLMs) in risk management. Highlighting a recent blunder where a Top 4 consultancy published a 44-page fraud report riddled with completely fabricated citations and...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick is joined by Robert Siciliano, a world-renowned security analyst, bestselling author, and the architect of the Strategic Human Firewall. While the industry often obsesses over technological solutions, Robert explores why humans—not hackers—remain the ultimate deciding factor in organizational security.

The conversation dives deep into the "Human Blind Spot"—our biological instinct to trust that often overrides digital suspicion. Robert shares his unconventional journey from the streets of Boston to becoming a leading security educator, including the time he bought a working ATM on Craigslist to prove how easily data b...

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick is joined by a guest she has been trying to bring back to the show for years: Holly Sandberg, a veteran leader in fraud operations, Americas Advisory Board at MRC and the former Director of Trust and Safety at Reverb. As the industry grapples with the rapid rise of Generative AI, Holly and Karisse cut through the "robot takeover" anxiety to provide a grounded, expert perspective on the future of fraud leadership.

The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of AI in trust and safety, detailing why the "human element"...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive update on the shifting tides of the fraud industry, from international takedowns to the growing pains of AI-driven commerce. Karisse dives into the latest news and personal insights gathered from her network, cutting through the industry hype to provide practical realities for fraud and payments professionals.

The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of Agentic AI in commerce and how the major card brands are reacting to it. Karisse provides an inside look at new protection frameworks, such as American Express’s "ACE Developer Kit," and contrasts them wi...

The Fraud Avengers Assemble: Inside the Magic of Fraud Fight Club Round 3 In this special reunion episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick is joined by Hailey Windham (Fraud Forward podcast) and Jen Lamont for an authentic, "slumber party style" debrief straight from an Airbnb in Charlotte, North Carolina. After three days at Fraud Fight Club Round 3, the trio cuts through the noise of traditional conferences to discuss why this "unconference" feels like the "Fraud Avengers" have finally assembled to collaborate, rather than just sit through slide decks.

The conversation dives deep into the emotional and technical highlights of...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick welcomes back Ron Zayas, CEO of Ironwall, to discuss the terrifying ways Artificial Intelligence is industrializing fraud. While we often think of AI as a tool for automation, Zayas explains that its true danger lies in its ability to apply human-like logic to stolen data at an unprecedented scale.

The conversation dives deep into the mechanics of modern account takeovers, explaining how AI can "guess" password variations by identifying personal patterns across multiple data breaches. We also explore the hidden risks of biometric security, from the vulnerabilities of centralized facial...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick welcomes back Erin West, prosecutor and founder of Operation Shamrock, for an urgent update on the global "scamdemic" of pig butchering. Erin shares firsthand accounts from her recent investigative trip to Cambodia, providing a chilling look at the industrialized nature of transnational organized crime and the massive scale of the scam compounds operating in the region.

The conversation explores the recent waves of accountability, including the historic U.S. indictment of Cambodian/Chinese kingpin Chen Ji and the subsequent $15 billion forfeiture—a move that has sent ripples of fear through th...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive debrief following the Merchant Risk Council (MRC) Vegas conference. Karisse shares her highlights and lowlights from one of the industry's biggest events, cutting through the conference hype to provide practical insights for fraud and payments professionals.

The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of Agentic AI in commerce, detailing how tools like Sardine are now identifying AI agents by monitoring "invisible" behaviors, such as fields being filled without mouse movement. Karisse provides an inside look at why OpenAI recently shelved its "instant checkout" feature, moving away from being...

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive debrief following the Merchant Risk Council (MRC) Vegas conference. Karisse shares her highlights and lowlights from one of the industry's biggest events, cutting through the conference hype to provide practical insights for fraud and payments professionals.

The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of Agentic AI in commerce, detailing how tools like Sardine are now identifying AI agents by monitoring "invisible" behaviors, such as fields being filled without mouse movement. Karisse provides an inside look at why OpenAI recently shelved its "instant checkout" feature, moving away from...

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick is joined by Frank McKenna, Chief Fraud Strategist at PointPredictive and the mind behind Frank on Fraud. Frank shares his latest deep dive into Starkiller, a sophisticated new phishing-as-a-service (PaaS) platform that emerged following the takedown of Tycoon 2FA.

The conversation explores the terrifying mechanics of Attacker-in-the-Middle (AITM) attacks, where fraudsters use "headless browsers" to mirror legitimate login sessions in real-time. Frank provides an inside look at how this tool allows criminals to capture not just credentials, but also two-factor authentication (2FA) codes and session cookies, enabling them to...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick is joined by Keith Briscoe, VP of Education and Advocacy at the Merchant Risk Council (MRC). Keith shares his journey from marketing commodity transaction software in the late '90s to falling in love with the high-value world of fraud intelligence at Ethoca.

The conversation dives deep into the MRC's critical role in global advocacy, highlighting how they foster balanced dialogues between merchants, issuers, and card networks to create sustainable change. Keith provides an inside look at the recent evolution of Visa’s Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) and the collaborative ef...

In this episode of the Fraudology podcast, Karisse Hendrick is joined by Matt Vega, Chief Fraud Strategist at Sardine, to explore how artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the threat landscape for financial institutions and online retailers.

First, Matt reveals the alarming ease with which AI can now be used to orchestrate phishing campaigns. Using advanced tools like Vercel’s v0, Matt demonstrates how he can clone a legitimate website—complete with branding, functional images, and login flows—in less than five minutes. He explains how attackers use these replicas to execute sophisticated "man-in-the-middle" attacks, tricking victims into handin...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this solo episode, Karisse Hendrick checks in from a hotel room in San Diego at the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) conference to share urgent intelligence from the front lines of e-commerce fraud before the full chaos of conference season begins.

First, Karisse explores two sophisticated new fraud trends that are leaving even seasoned investigators scratching their heads. She breaks down the rise of the "Two-Victim ATO," a unique spin on account takeover where fraudsters leverage the "legacy" and trust of an active...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this solo "vacation" episode, Karisse Hendrick checks in from the island of Maui to catch up on the latest in the fraud world before the chaos of conference season begins.

First, Karisse explores a hilarious yet alarming trend in artificial intelligence: AI Hallucinations. Reading from a recent article by Frank McKenna, she highlights how Google’s AI summary tool is confidently inventing absurd fraud schemes—from the "Donkey Scam" involving miniature donkey rescues to the bizarre "Clown Smile Scam" in the dentistry indu...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick welcomes back elite fraud fighter and Stratovera CEO Robert Capps to discuss the shifting power balance in the age of AI. Robert shares a fascinating "thought experiment" where he used Large Language Models (LLMs) to reverse engineer obfuscated JavaScript, proving that even non-technical attackers can now identify and dismantle complex front-end fraud tools in real-time.

The conversation dives deep into the "Build vs. Buy" debate, with Robert cautioning organizations that the true cost of building internal...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick is joined by Jay Jones, a copywriter turned globally recognized external threat and impersonation risk consultant known as "The Profiler". After being unexpectedly laid off in late 2023, Jay became a target for sophisticated scammers on LinkedIn, sparking a new mission to protect job seekers and corporations alike.

Jay breaks down the "Scammer Pipeline," a three-tiered lifecycle ranging from quick resume harvesting to long-term identity theft and financial draining. They dive deep into the psychology of "...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this deep dive episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick kicks off 2026 by unpacking the annual Fraud Predictions report. While the data was compiled alongside the "Fraud Compadres"—Frank McKenna, Mary Ann Miller, and Matt Vega—Karisse uses this episode to provide her unique merchant-side perspective and exclusive behind-the-scenes context.

The episode centers on a terrifying new trend: Ghost Tapping. Karisse reveals an "inside story" from December 2025, where luxury retailers across major U.S. cities were hit by coordinated mule syndicates using sophisticated NFC rela...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick sits down with Robbie MacDiarmid to explore the rise of agentic AI and its implications for fraud prevention, payments, and liability in e-commerce. They break agentic commerce into its core layers: search, merchant interaction, and payment, then explain why fraud and payments are often treated as an afterthought as new AI-driven commerce experiences roll out.

They also unpack emerging risks, such as first-party fraud, account takeover, chargebacks tied to “I don’t recognize this transaction,” and th...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In the final new episode of 2025, Karisse Hendrick closes out the year with a solo fraud news roundup covering the latest trends impacting e-commerce, payments, and digital trust. The episode examines the FCC’s response to large-scale robocalls, the rapid evolution of smishing campaigns into rewards and tax-refund lures, and how fraudsters are using one-time passcodes to add stolen payment cards into mobile wallets.

The discussion also explores new EU rules that increase liability for social platforms that fail to remove reported scams, pl...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick walks listeners through a packed roundup of the latest fraud, cybercrime, and AI-driven threats shaping the industry. She begins with OpenAI’s disclosure that a third-party analytics breach exposed certain ChatGPT API customer details, then unpacks the rise of Kawaii GPT, a wormGPT style jailbreak tool that bypasses safety filters on mainstream models like DeepSeek and Gemini. Karisse also explores emerging reports that scam compounds in Southeast Asia are testing whether AI can replace trafficked workers in pi...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick is joined by two of the industry’s most respected fraud experts: Frank McKenna (Co-Founder of Point Predictive) and Matt Vega (Sardine). Together, they break down how AI is transforming the fraud landscape, supercharging deepfake scams, automating exploitation tools, enabling AI-generated phishing sites, and powering large-scale credential-based attacks that bypass traditional controls.

The conversation also highlights what fraud leaders can do: strengthening behavioral biometrics, enabling offensive threat-intel programs, leveraging agent-based automation responsibly, and preparing for a...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology host Karisse Hendrick explores two major developments in today’s fraud ecosystem. She begins with a detailed walkthrough of a recent DOJ case involving U.S.-based collaborators supporting Indian call-center scams that defrauded older Americans of more than $40 million. Drawing from court filings, Karisse explains the “opener/closer/money transmitter” phases, cross-border coordination, and how investigators pieced the scheme together.

She then examines a new Reuters report alleging that Meta derived a significant share of revenue from scam a...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick unpacks a wave of major fraud news and security trends. From the execution sentences of Myanmar’s scam compound kingpins and Starlink’s device crackdown, to Singapore’s $150 million asset freeze targeting the Prince Group, Hendrick explores both the progress and the persistence of global fraud operations.

She also highlights new U.S. fraud schemes impersonating federal agents, the identity theft of Titans quarterback Cam Ward, and serious cybersecurity warnings about AI browsers’ vulnerabilities. With ransomwa...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this investigative update, Fraudology breaks down Visa’s VAMP rollout and its immediate effects on merchants and acquirers. Topics include why some September activity is already being fined; how VAMP now combines TC40 fraud alerts and chargebacks; the $8-per-instance fee (and $16 exposure when a TC40 becomes a chargeback); descriptor-level monitoring; processor-specific ratios; and the acquirer portfolio thresholds (0.7% now; 0.5% in April 2026).

Listeners get practical guidance: validate descriptors to avoid “borrowed” fraud, reconcile TC40s against refunds to prevent double counting, consider contract addendums with f...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick analyzes several major developments in the global fraud landscape. She breaks down U.S. sanctions against a Cambodian financial group and the coordinated raids on scam compounds in Myanmar, highlighting how enforcement efforts are ramping up across Southeast Asia.

Karisse also explores how fraudsters are adapting by using Starlink satellite internet, raising questions about corporate responsibility in curbing global cybercrime. Plus, she covers Europol’s takedown of a SIM farm operation behind 49 million fake accounts an...

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology In this must-listen episode of the Fraudology Podcast, host Karisse Hendrick welcomes back fraud prevention expert Frank McKenna, co-founder of Point Predictive. Together, they explore the explosive rise of deepfakes and AI-generated voice clones, revealing how these technologies have reached a disturbing level of realism and accessibility.

Frank shares jaw-dropping examples of recent AI-powered fraud, including:

Fraudology is presented by Sardine. Request a 1:1 product demo at sardine.ai

In this episode of Fraudology In this eye-opening episode of the Fraudology Podcast, host Karisse Hendrick uncovers two shocking case studies that expose major security failures at T-Mobile and Meta, and what they mean for the future of digital fraud prevention.

Karisse begins by breaking down the rocky rollout of Visa’s new risk-monitoring system, VAMP, explaining why it’s causing confusion and frustration for eCommerce merchants and acquirers. She also shares exciting news about co-founding the Merchant Fraud Alliance, a first-of-its-kind conference designed to...