In today’s digital-first financial landscape, credit unions face an unrelenting challenge: safeguarding members’ accounts while maintaining the seamless, trust-based experience that defines their cooperative identity. Fraudsters are growing more sophisticated, but so too are the tools and strategies available to counter them.
According to ACI Worldwide, fraud activity increases by approximately 30% during the holiday shopping season. As transaction volumes increase this time of year, we would like to offer some timely guidance for credit unions looking to fine-tune their risk parameters, strengthen fraud defenses, and protect both their portfolios and their members. Beyond the technical recommendations, these best practices point to a broader truth, that risk management is no longer just a back-office function; it’s a member experience imperative.
The Evolving Fraud Landscape
Fraudsters have evolved from opportunistic actors into organized, data-driven networks. Card testing, synthetic identities, and account takeovers are occurring at record speed, often targeting vulnerabilities in authentication, transaction limits, or outdated parameter settings.
The latest Card Risk Office advisory underscores this evolution. It calls on credit unions to review and realign their risk parameters, including daily limits, velocity settings, and authentication thresholds, to align today’s fraud patterns and member behaviors.
For example, something as simple as verifying CVV codes and expiration dates can block automated card-testing schemes which are commonly known as BIN Brute Force attacks. Likewise, adjusting transaction velocity controls can prevent “runaway fraud,” where fraudsters exploit high limits to rapidly execute multiple unauthorized transactions.
Collaboration: The Cornerstone of Modern Risk Management
Perhaps the most important recommendation from the advisory is not technological but relational: partner closely with your risk analyst.
Credit unions that engage in continuous dialogue with their risk analyst tend to detect fraud earlier and recover faster. Regular conversations about emerging fraud trends, regional activity, and rule effectiveness can transform static controls into a dynamic defense system.
Fiserv recommends maintaining a 75% or higher rate of closed fraud cases, a benchmark that not only supports data accuracy but also improves the predictive strength of fraud detection tools like EnFact®. Each confirmed case helps refine the neural network models that power these systems, enabling faster, smarter fraud prevention across the entire portfolio.
Balancing Risk Controls with Member Experience
For credit unions, risk management has always involved balance. Excessive controls can frustrate members, but too much leniency opens the door to loss. The advisory provides data-driven parameters that help institutions find equilibrium, protecting members without impeding their everyday financial activity.
For instance, recommended daily velocity limits for debit and credit gateway transactions range between 8–12 ATM transactions and 12–18 POS transactions per day. These limits help block abnormal behavior while allowing legitimate member spending to flow uninterrupted.
Similarly, Fiserv’s guidance on IVR authentication, requiring four to six mixed wallet and non-wallet verification factors, strengthens security during card activation or PIN change events without introducing friction for legitimate users.
It’s a reminder that risk settings are not one-size-fits-all; they should evolve alongside member habits, transaction patterns, and your credit union’s risk tolerance.
Technology as a Force Multiplier
The Card Risk Office framework highlights a suite of integrated tools that, when used together, create a layered approach to fraud mitigation:
- TranBlocker acts as a first line of defense by blocking transactions from high-risk geographies or merchant categories.
- EnFact uses real-time analytics and machine learning to detect suspicious activity and generate actionable alerts.
- Auto Risk Exemption Services (ARES) helps minimize friction by temporarily exempting confirmed “no fraud” cases keeping genuine transactions flowing while still managing exposure.
- Step Up Authentication provides an added layer of identity verification in high-risk situations, such as travel exemptions or digital wallet activations.
When deployed strategically, these tools enable credit unions to operate with confidence, knowing their fraud mitigation ecosystem adapts as threats evolve.
Emerging Threats: The Dark Web and Data Exposure
Many BIN Brute Force Attacks originate from card data that is listed for sale on the dark web. Cyber Fraud Warning, an add-on service identifies these cards and credentials often before fraudulent activity begins.
According to Fiserv’s internal case study, Cyber Fraud Warning alerts arrive on average 30 days before major fraud events and can reduce fraud loss by up to 15%. These insights give credit unions a critical head start: they can reissue or monitor cards before members are impacted, transforming a potential crisis into proactive protection.
In an era where the average data breach exposes millions of card numbers, this early warning system is invaluable not just for preventing fraud, but for maintaining member trust.
The Power of Data and Continuous Review
Risk parameters are not “set it and forget it.” They must be reviewed regularly, guided by both data and dialogue. Credit unions receive numerous daily and month end reports that provide a clear roadmap for maintaining oversight. Please refer to the “Card Risk Office Best Practices for Risk Parameters – Q3 2025” distributed on October 7, 2025, for a detailed list of these reports.
By leveraging real-time analytics and daily report reviews, credit unions can spot anomalies faster and adjust parameters before fraud losses escalate. Continuous monitoring ensures that fraud prevention remains as agile as the threats it seeks to deter.
Where Strategy Meets Service
Ultimately, these best practices remind us that effective risk management is about protecting relationships as much as transactions. Every declined fraud attempt represents a moment where your credit union safeguarded a member’s financial well-being and every unnecessary denial risks eroding that same trust.
By blending human expertise with intelligent automation, credit unions can build defenses that are both resilient and responsive. Whether adjusting transaction limits, refining authentication steps, or leveraging predictive analytics, the goal remains the same: to enable safe, frictionless member engagement.
A Continuous Commitment
Fraud may never disappear, but the strategies to combat it are more powerful than ever. For credit unions, success in this space requires vigilance, adaptability, and collaboration.
Regularly revisiting risk parameters and ensuring they evolve in step with technology and member behavior will help credit unions stay a step ahead of fraudsters while keeping their defining promise to members intact: to serve with integrity, security, and trust.
About the Author
Rebekah Higgins is Synergent’s Chief Growth Officer. For over 26 years, she has worked with credit unions of all sizes, helping them embrace and navigate changes in the fast-paced payment and fraud industries. Rebekah’s depth of product and trend knowledge has led to her becoming a sought-after subject matter expert.
