Guest: Dajana Gajic-Fisic
Today I’m talking with Dajana Gajic-Fisic about something that does not get nearly enough attention, and honestly, it affects almost every fraud team I know. Fraud team credibility.
Because one of the hardest parts of this job is not always what is happening outside the company. Sometimes it is what is happening inside it. Being understood. Being trusted. Being seen as more than the team that says no, reports losses, or shows up after something already went wrong.
I wanted to have this conversation because Dajana has done something a lot of fraud leaders are trying to do. She built real credibility across her organization. Not overnight. Not by talking louder. Not by just repeating chargeback numbers in more meetings. She became a trusted fraud SME by helping other departments understand risk in a way that was actually useful to them.
And that matters.
Because fraud team credibility is not just about reputation. It affects influence. Budget. Collaboration. Escalation paths. Executive trust. And whether the fraud team is invited into important conversations early enough to actually help. If your company only sees fraud through chargebacks and declines, you are probably already behind.
Here is what that means in practice:
- Fraud team credibility is built through trust, consistency, and useful cross-functional partnership
- Demonstrating fraud value requires more than reporting fraud rates and chargebacks
- Leadership trust in fraud grows when teams solve business problems, not just fraud problems
- Fraud beyond chargebacks is often the key to stronger organizational fraud alignment
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Why fraud teams are often treated like an afterthought inside their own companies
- How Dajana built fraud team credibility across departments and with executives
- What cross-functional fraud collaboration looks like when it is done well
- Why internal fraud consulting can create stronger trust than policing alone
- How to build a fraud prevention business case that goes beyond chargebacks and false declines
You should listen to this episode if you:
- Lead or work on a fraud team and want more credibility inside your organization
- Need better executive buy-in for fraud or stronger leadership trust in fraud
- Are trying to improve fraud team advocacy and stakeholder education in fraud
- Want practical examples of cross-functional fraud collaboration and fraud prevention influence
- Know your team does more than fight chargebacks, but need help proving it internally
If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
Episode notes & key takeaways
In this episode, I talk with Dajana about one of the most important internal fraud topics there is, which is how fraud teams build trust inside the business. Not just trust in their expertise, but trust in their judgment, their perspective, and the value they bring to decisions beyond fraud losses.
Why fraud team credibility is so hard to build
Let’s break this down.
A lot of fraud teams start from a disadvantage internally. Not because they are doing bad work. Because the work is often misunderstood. Other departments may only see the fraud team when there is a problem, when an order gets stopped, or when metrics start moving in the wrong direction. That creates a very narrow picture of what the team actually does.
And that is a problem.
Because fraud team credibility depends on people understanding the team as a strategic partner, not just a blocker or a reporting function. If the only language the fraud team uses is loss, chargebacks, and declines, then the rest of the company may never connect fraud work to customer experience, operational efficiency, revenue protection, or brand trust.
We’ve seen this playbook before.
- Fraud team credibility is harder to build when the business only sees fraud through negative outcomes
- Fraud team reputation often suffers when communication is too narrow or too reactive
- Demonstrating fraud value requires showing how fraud affects broader business goals
- Stakeholder education in fraud is often the missing step between expertise and influence
How cross-functional fraud collaboration builds trust
Here’s what’s actually happening.
One of the strongest themes in this conversation is that credibility does not come from demanding a seat at the table. It comes from being useful once you get there. Dajana talks about building trust with other departments that did not initially understand the fraud team’s value, and that approach matters a lot.
Because cross-functional fraud collaboration is really about translation.
It is knowing how to explain risk to operations, customer support, finance, product, and leadership in a way that connects to what they care about. Not watering down the fraud part. Translating it. That is a very different skill. And honestly, it is one of the most important ones a fraud leader can build.
Right.
- Cross-functional fraud collaboration works best when fraud teams speak in business terms, not just fraud terms
- Building trust across departments depends on consistency and practical support
- Internal fraud consulting can help teams become trusted advisors instead of last-minute escalations
- Organizational fraud alignment improves when the fraud team helps other teams succeed too
Why focusing only on chargebacks can create the wrong message
This is where things get interesting.
A lot of teams still rely too heavily on chargebacks and fraud rates when trying to prove their value. Those metrics matter, obviously. But if that is the whole story, it can create distrust or unintended consequences. It can make the fraud team seem disconnected from customer friction, growth goals, operational realities, or the bigger business tradeoffs other leaders are juggling.
That usually does not help.
And this is one of the most useful points Dajana makes. Fraud beyond chargebacks is where the stronger business case usually lives. Customer trust. Policy clarity. Operational efficiency. Abuse prevention. Internal expertise. Smarter decision-making. Those are all part of the value equation too.
That is the part more teams need to articulate.
- Fraud beyond chargebacks is often where the business feels the team’s impact most clearly
- Fraud prevention business case conversations should include trust, efficiency, and customer experience
- Leadership trust in fraud gets stronger when teams acknowledge business tradeoffs
- Demonstrating fraud value means connecting fraud outcomes to broader company priorities
How fraud leaders become trusted internal SMEs
I really liked this part of the conversation because it gets into what a fraud SME actually looks like inside a company.
It is not just knowing the most about fraud. It is knowing how to apply that knowledge in a way other teams can use. It is being thoughtful, consistent, and credible enough that people come to you before they make a decision, not after the fallout starts. That is a very different level of influence.
And that matters.
Because fraud prevention influence grows when people trust your judgment, not just your data. They need to believe you understand the bigger context. They need to know you can help them think through problems, not just identify them.
That is how fraud leaders become sought-after internally.
- A fraud SME earns influence by making expertise practical for the rest of the business
- Ecommerce fraud leadership requires strong judgment as much as technical skill
- Fraud team advocacy works better when credibility is built over time instead of forced
- Executive buy-in for fraud often starts with smaller moments of earned trust
What good fraud teams should take from this
So what should fraud teams take from this conversation?
First, credibility is not automatic just because your team is right. Second, being right is not enough if nobody understands your value. And third, some of the best fraud work happens when the team is trusted early, consulted often, and seen as part of the solution across the business.
Honestly, that is the biggest takeaway for me.
Dajana’s approach is a really strong reminder that fraud team credibility is built through relationships, communication, and a broader view of value. Not just by catching more fraud. That still matters, of course. But if your company does not understand how your team helps it make better decisions, then a lot of your impact is staying invisible.
The big takeaway from this episode is pretty straightforward. Fraud team credibility is one of the most important things a fraud leader can build, because it shapes everything else, influence, alignment, trust, and the ability to create real change inside the business. And that is exactly why this conversation is so useful.
