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How to Combat the New Reality of Payments Fraud

Author Svetla Pavlova

Headshot of Chris Uriarte, Partner at Glenbrook Partners

As debit fraud continues to evolve, so must defensive strategies. Friendly fraud and scams now represent nearly a quarter of all fraud claims, according to the 2025 PULSE® Debit Issuer Study. From refund abuse to authorized push payment fraud, today’s fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated techniques that are hard to spot and even tougher to defend.

In a recent PULSE webinar, Chris Uriarte, Partner at Glenbrook Partners, drew on more than 25 years of experience in fintech, payments, fraud prevention, and risk management to deliver an insightful analysis of today’s fraud landscape. During the webinar, he shared actionable mitigation strategies organizations can use to combat emerging threats.

 

 

Traditional detection is not enough

Fraud is no longer just about stolen credentials – it’s about deception. Uriarte shared real-life examples illustrating how fraudsters trick consumers into handing over valuable information under false pretenses, which makes prevention difficult. While traditional fraud-detection systems are effective against transactional third-party fraud, they often fall short against first-party fraud and complex scams.

“You have to ensure that you have a multilayered approach here – multilayered, multidimensional – when you’re looking at mitigation for scams and first-party fraud,” said Uriarte.

Strategies to boost mitigation effectiveness

Organizations need an adaptive approach that blends:

  • Consistent implementation of best practices for identity verification, dispute management, and behavioral analytics for merchants and issuers
  • Access to the right data to drive strategies and enforce usage of the right tools
  • A supportive compliance and network framework that offers consistency and clarity, protects consumers, and discourages misuse

This trifecta needs to work together while addressing two important themes for both issuers and merchants: cardholder education and equipping tools and teams to detect new fraud patterns.

“You have to ensure that the tools that you’re using today have adapted to these types of fraudulent activity,” stressed Uriarte. He added, “It’s incredibly important and needs to be top of mind for everyone in the payments ecosystem regardless of what role you play.”

Watch the webinar to gain practical strategies and see how you can strengthen your organization’s defenses against the new face of fraud.