🛡️ Winning the War on Fraud in Lending

Real-World Tactics and Tools From Experts on the Frontlines

At the 2025 LendSuite Conference, day two's afternoon kicked off with a high-impact session focused on a challenge every lender is familiar with: fraud. Whether you're battling bot traffic, affiliate manipulation, or consumer deception, fraud is not a “what if”—it’s a guaranteed cost of doing business.

But you’re not alone in the fight.

Led by Chris Olson, CEO of Tekambi, this expert panel featured voices from lead, fraud prevention, and underwriting strategy, diving into the exact tactics lenders are using to stay one step ahead.

🤖 Fraud Is Evolving—Fast. Are You Keeping Up?

The session opened with a sobering truth: fraudsters aren’t just growing in number—they’re evolving in sophistication.

Chris introduced two forms of fraud that lenders should be tracking:

• Affiliate or lead-level fraud (fake or manipulated leads)

• Consumer fraud (borrowers gaming the system or impersonating others)

Understanding the type of fraud you're facing is step one in building the right defense.

“The moment you block one method, fraudsters pivot to another. It’s not about if they’ll come back—it’s how soon.”
— Anet Cortez, Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer at Leap Theory

📊 Data Is the Most Powerful Tool in Your Arsenal

According to the panel, the single most valuable weapon against fraud is data—but not just having it. You need to analyze it frequently and adapt fast.

Anet explained how Leap Theory caught and stopped 7–15% of fraud across their daily submissions, but only by:

• Running logic audits multiple times per month

• Adapting rules based on channel-specific traffic behavior

• Using NLP (Natural Language Processing) filters to flag suspicious patterns

Pro Tip: Even if you’re not a lead network, you can ask your providers to share flagged trends and patterns with you regularly.

⛔ Stop Fraud Early—At the Top of the Funnel

Julian Fasi from IDology emphasized this point:

“The top of the funnel is where you have the greatest vulnerability and the highest ROI on fraud prevention.”

Stopping fraud before leads even enter your underwriting or funding process can save massive downstream costs. Tactics include:

• Device fingerprinting

• Email and IP reputation analysis

• Real-time behavioral signals

• Layered identity and digital footprint analysis

With 65% of known fraud now tied to mobile/online attributes, the earlier you analyze, the better.

💡 Constant Refresh Beats Static Defense

One standout insight: fraud logic is not a “set it and forget it” system.

Julian revealed that they had to update fraud logic seven times in two months just to stay ahead. The fraud playbook is always changing, so lenders must:

• Schedule logic reviews at least quarterly

• Include both human oversight and machine-learning insights

• Avoid relying on any single fraud solution or vendor

Even a 1% blind spot can cost thousands in charged-off loans.

🔄 Post-Acquisition Fraud Is the Hidden Threat

Most conversations around fraud focus on acquisition, but Chris pointed out that many lenders forget about the post-acquisition window—the period before funding is finalized.

What are smart lenders doing in that window?

• 2FA and selfie/ID verification

• Real-time bank account analysis

• Additional digital identity checks for high-risk leads

“You may have already paid for the lead, but confirming legitimacy before you disburse principal still saves you in the long run.”

📬 The Power of Real-Time Feedback Loops

Fraud prevention is not a solo effort—it’s a collaborative loop. The panel emphasized the importance of:

• Promptly reporting suspicious activity to your networks

• Sharing specific flags (email, IP, behavior) to help identify trends

• Building proactive alert systems for off-hour spikes

Most fraud happens in low-staff or late-night hours, so real-time alerts are essential.

🤝 Transparency Builds Trust—And Better Defense

Some lenders worry that sharing performance or fraud data with lead providers is risky. But Anet explained that open communication is the only way to actually reduce risk.

You don’t need to share full portfolios—just meaningful sample data, red flags, and indicators that can lead to better collective defense.

“If something looks fishy, say something. It only takes one lead to open the floodgates.”

🧠 AI and Machine Learning: Powerful but Not Perfect

The panel tackled one of the biggest buzzwords in the industry: AI. So, is it the silver bullet?

Not quite.

While AI and ML are core to modern fraud detection, they must be guided by human intelligence. Without that, they can just as easily let fraud through as they can stop it.

Best practice:

• Use ML to scale pattern recognition

• Let human experts validate new rules, logic, and decisions

• Use AI-generated tools as a layer, not the core engine

🔮 What’s Coming in 2025?

So, what do the experts see on the horizon?

• More fraud sophistication, not necessarily new techniques

• Greater use of behavioral pattern matching

• Increased use of AI by fraudsters themselves

• More creative abuse of off-peak and automated lead campaigns

The war on fraud is not ending—but with the right partners, data strategies, and response systems, lenders can keep their pipelines clean and their portfolios profitable.

✅ Stay One Step Ahead With LendSuite Software

Book a Discovery Call With Our Team

Fraud doesn’t take a day off. Neither do we.

At LendSuite, we help lenders build dynamic, responsive systems to protect their lead flow, underwriting, and post-funding workflows. With tools from Epic, Infinity, and Tekambi, our clients are equipped to:

• Spot threats early

• Collaborate with trusted vendors

• Implement real-time, adaptive protection

Let’s work together to review your fraud workflows, data structure, and risk strategy.

🔗 Request a Discovery Call Below >>>