Fraud Strategy

Location - Bangalore

About the Role:

Operating directly out of the Chief Risk Officer's (CRO's) Office, the Individual will serve as the strategic enterprise lead for all fraud prevention, detection, and mitigation capabilities. This is a deeply tech and analytics-focused role sitting at the critical intersection of risk strategy, data science, tech innovation, product design, and operational execution.

Key Responsibilities:

- Tech & Analytics-Driven Fraud Architecture: Partner directly with Engineering, Data Science, and Product teams to design, build, and scale real-time automated fraud rule engines, predictive ML/AI fraud models, API security controls, device intelligence, and automated decisioning platforms.

- Advanced Analytics & Pattern Detection: Leverage data science, network graph analytics, anomaly detection, and predictive modeling to proactively identify complex fraud rings, synthetic identity networks, and emerging attack vectors across digital and branch portfolios.

- Strategic Fraud Governance & Frameworks: Design, implement, and continually evolve end-to-end fraud risk management strategy across both digital (APIs, fintech partnerships, app journeys) and branch-led (assisted, field operations, physical verification) lending channels, under the guidance of CRO and Head of FCU. Establish Key Fraud Indicators (KFIs), risk tolerance thresholds, and fraud-loss mitigation goals.

- Product-Level Fraud Strategy: Partner closely with Product Managers to build friction-appropriate fraud controls into customer journeys across the lifecycle, from acquisition, onboarding, and underwriting to disbursement and servicing.

Channel-Specific Fraud Controls:

1. Digital: Define and deploy safeguards for digital journeys (device fingerprinting, synthetic identity detection, account takeover, dynamic OTP verification, API security).

2. Branch-Led: Establish controls for physical networks (safeguards against document forgery, field-level impersonation, collusion, first-party fraud, and channel partner misrepresentation).

- Cross-Functional Execution: Act as the primary engine for executing fraud initiatives. Work hand-in-hand with Tech, Product, Analytics, Operations, Compliance, and Field teams to translate high-level strategies into executable product features, rule engine deployments, and operational workflows.

- Market Benchmarking & Threat Intelligence: Maintain deep awareness of market standards, emerging fraud vectors, and evolving risk topologies across the Indian banking, NBFC, and fintech landscapes. Continuously benchmark internal controls against industry best practices.

- Vendor & Tooling Ecosystem: Evaluate, select, integrate cutting-edge vendor solutions and fraud prevention technologies (e.g., fraud rule engines, biometrics, bank account validation, OCR/document verification systems, device intelligence) working alongside tech and product teams.

- Analytics, Rule Engine & ML Strategy: Oversee the performance, continuous tuning, and optimization of fraud rule engines and usage of machine-learning detection models in partnership with the Risk Analytics team.

- Incident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Lead post-incident analyses on fraud leakages, conduct vulnerability reviews, and rapidly deploy corrective strategies to prevent recurrence across affected channels.

- Regulatory Monitoring & Compliance: Actively monitor regulatory guidelines from the RBI regarding fraud reporting, cyber-resilience, and customer protection; work with respective teams to ensure seamless compliance and timely reporting.

- Leadership & Board Reporting: Develop strategic dashboards and threat assessment materials for the CRO and Management Committees.

Qualification & Experience:

- 6-10 years of progressive experience in risk management, with a primary focus on Fraud Strategy, Fraud Analytics, Fraud Tech, or Risk Analytics within a fast-paced Bank, NBFC, or Fintech.

- Demonstrated track record of designing and executing fraud strategies across both digital lending platforms and physical/branch-led networks.

- Bachelors degree; preference for a Master's or quantitative background (e.g., Finance, Economics, Engineering, Statistics, or Management).

- Deep domain expertise in Indian digital lending ecosystems, bureau integrations, verification infrastructure (CKYC, Account Aggregator, etc.), and RBI regulatory frameworks.

- Hands-on experience with fraud rule engines, risk modeling, device intelligence tools, and third-party risk management solutions.