Guest: Angela Borden, Tina VanBrunt, Mary Chen, Holly Sandberg, Marko Medenica
Let’s break this down.
In this episode of Fraudology, I had the opportunity to sit down with several incredible fraud and payments leaders connected to the Merchant Risk Council. If you work in fraud prevention or payments risk, you probably already know that MRC is one of the most important communities in our industry for education, collaboration, and professional growth.
And this conversation really captures why that community matters.
Because here’s what’s actually happening.
Fraud prevention is one of those fields where no one follows a straight path into the role. People come from payments, data science, customer service, cybersecurity, and sometimes completely unrelated industries before discovering fraud risk and realizing how fascinating it can be.
So in this roundtable discussion, I’m joined by Angela Borden from Little Caesars, Tina VanBrunt from the Gamer Safety Alliance, Mary Chen from Walmart+, Holly Sandberg from Reverb, and Marko Medenica from Grammarly. Together we talk about merchant risk management, career development in fraud, and how industry communities like MRC help professionals grow and share knowledge.
Here is what merchant risk management means in practice:
- building cross-functional fraud collaboration across payments teams
- developing fraud professional development through community learning
- sharing merchant risk council insights across organizations
- strengthening fraud community engagement through industry collaboration
What you’ll hear in this episode
- Career journeys into fraud and payments risk
- How MRC supports fraud education and professional development
- Why diverse fraud teams strengthen risk management strategies
- The role of networking in fraud prevention careers
- How mentorship helps build the next generation of fraud leaders
You should listen to this episode if you
- work in fraud prevention or merchant risk management
- want to grow your career in payments and fraud
- participate in industry conferences like MRC
- mentor or train new fraud professionals
- believe collaboration improves fraud prevention outcomes
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
Merchant risk management requires collaboration across teams
Fraud prevention rarely operates in isolation. Merchant risk management requires coordination between fraud analysts, payments teams, customer experience teams, and product leaders.
Organizations that build cross-functional fraud collaboration often develop stronger defenses against emerging threats.
Operational indicators may include:
- cross-functional fraud collaboration improving fraud detection strategies
- building expertise in merchant risk through shared knowledge
- merchant risk council insights guiding fraud operations
- fraud community engagement strengthening industry collaboration
When teams across the business understand fraud risk, prevention becomes far more effective.
Industry communities accelerate fraud education
Another major theme discussed in this episode is the role of professional communities like the Merchant Risk Council. These groups create spaces where fraud professionals can exchange ideas, share case studies, and learn from real-world experiences.
Operational indicators may include:
- MRC fraud education programs supporting industry learning
- inclusive fraud education creating diverse perspectives
- fraud conference learning improving practitioner knowledge
- networking in fraud prevention building industry connections
These environments allow professionals to stay ahead of evolving fraud tactics.
Mentorship and networking support fraud career growth
Many fraud professionals credit mentorship and networking as key factors in their career development. Relationships built through industry events and communities often lead to opportunities for learning, leadership, and collaboration.
Operational indicators may include:
- mentorship in fraud prevention guiding new professionals
- one-on-one mentoring in fraud supporting career development
- fraud leadership development through peer learning
- conference networking strategy expanding professional connections
Strong mentorship networks help ensure the industry continues to grow and evolve.
Professional development strengthens fraud leadership
The final takeaway from this conversation is the importance of continuous professional development. Fraud tactics evolve constantly, which means professionals in the field must keep learning and adapting.
Operational indicators may include:
- fraud professional development through industry education
- payments and fraud careers evolving alongside technology
- public speaking for fraud leaders sharing expertise
- data-driven fraud learning improving strategic decision-making
And honestly, one of the best parts of this industry is that there’s always something new to learn.
Because fraud is constantly changing, the professionals fighting it have to keep evolving too.
