Visa has introduced a dedicated Scam Disruption practice to detect and stop sophisticated scams before they cause harm. Unlike traditional fraud, scams often involve direct deception, making them personal for victims.
The new department, operating under Visa’s Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control (PERC), prevented $350 million in scam-related losses last year. This is in addition to the $40 billion in fraudulent transactions blocked across the Visa network.
“Visa has invested over $12 billion dollars in technology over the last five years, including to reduce fraud and enhance network security,” said Paul Fabara, chief risk and client services officer at Visa. “At the same time, we have made a significant investment in our best weapon against scammers: our people. By combining our proprietary technology with the unique experiences and perspective our talent brings, we can more effectively identify and defeat even the savviest scammers.”
Visa Scam Disruption (VSD) is designed to safeguard consumers, businesses, and financial institutions through three key areas.
Scam Intelligence
VSD integrates experts from various disciplines, including AI developers, engineers, and specialists with law enforcement, military operations, and data analysis backgrounds. These professionals work together to anticipate and mitigate scams before they escalate.
Proactive Investigations
By utilising multiple investigative methods and data sources, VSD works to identify emerging scams early and disrupt them before they cause widespread damage.
Scam Detection and Prevention
Using sophisticated data analytics, proprietary technology, and generative AI, VSD analyses vast amounts of information to uncover hidden patterns and fraudulent connections. Collaborating with banks, law enforcement, and third-party partners, Visa actively dismantles scam networks and prevents future attacks.
Success story
One notable success involved a large-scale identity verification scam that lured victims through phishing links on dating websites. These links, disguised as legitimate verification sites, tricked users into enrolling in fraudulent recurring payments. By cross-referencing transaction patterns, IP data, and advanced fraud indicators, Visa identified a vast network of nearly 12,000 fraudulent merchants. This operation prevented over $37 million in losses and was referred to law enforcement for further action.