CUES 115: Fraud Prevention Is a Member Service—an Interview With Andy Shank

When you can help members avoid being scammed—or at least help them overcome it, they’ll be grateful for your actions in the long run.

In this episode of the CUES Podcast, Andy Shank talks about things credit unions need to keep in mind when it comes to preventing and mitigating fraud. Shank is VP/fraud and risk management for CUES Supplier member Harland Clarke, San Antonio, Texas, the sponsor of this show.

“A lot of folks in the banking world kind of treat fraud as this, you know, scary little animal that we just try to shut in the closet and not talk about,” Shank says in the episode. “But if you don’t talk about it, and you don’t approach it, and you don’t, you know, really attack it head-on, you allow it to win.”

In the show, Shank spells out his definition of payments fraud: “anytime a bad guy electronically finds a way to move funds from point A to point B without authorization and without setting foot in a branch.” This could include contact center fraud, social engineering, wire transfer fraud, account takeovers and card skimming. “Basically, it’s the bank robbery of the 21st century,” he says.

Shank says everyone loses when someone gets scammed—the financial institution, the member, even society.  A former task force officer with the FBI and state police detective, he talks about his passion for stopping bad guys from stealing other people’s money. To him, helping a member avoid a fraud attempt or overcome being scammed is a true act of service.

“There are surveys and studies out there that say, … digital detection of fraud on accounts is one of the bigger factors for acquisition and retention of customers,” he explains in the show. “So, they may not appreciate it at the moment when you’ve told them that they’re being defrauded—and that the money may be gone forever. But at the end of the day, they will appreciate or at least they should appreciate the fact that their credit union was looking out for them and that they use they got that kind of personal attention to hopefully stop them from losing any more money.”

The show also gets into:

Shank’s background in criminal justice and law enforcement as it applies to his work today for Harland ClarkeThe value of cooperation among law enforcement agencies and among credit unions in the fight against fraudThe impact of the pandemic and remote work on fraudThe financial institutions most targeted by fraudstersShank’s most eye-opening experience while working to fight fraud

Links for this show: 

CUES Supplier member Harland ClarkeCU Management magazine feature about collaboration as an aid to fighting fraudTranscript of this show