Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Fraud Analyst Assistant

🎯 Role Definition

Welcome! This role requires a highly motivated and detail-oriented Fraud Analyst Assistant to join our dynamic Risk Management team. This is a fantastic entry-level opportunity to build a career in the exciting and critical field of fraud prevention.

In this role, you will be on the front lines, acting as the first line of defense against financial crime. You'll support our senior analysts by monitoring transactions, reviewing suspicious account activity, and conducting preliminary investigations. Your work will directly contribute to protecting our company and our customers from financial losses and reputational damage. If you have a curious mind, a passion for solving puzzles, and an unwavering commitment to integrity, we want to hear from you. This position is perfect for someone eager to learn the intricacies of payment systems, fraud typologies, and data-driven risk mitigation strategies.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Customer Service Representative (Financial Services/E-commerce)
Banking Teller or Operations Associate
Recent Graduate (Criminal Justice, Finance, Business)
Data Entry or Administrative roles with an analytical focus

Advancement To:

Fraud Analyst / Risk Analyst
Senior Fraud Analyst
Fraud Investigations Specialist
Risk Manager or Fraud Strategy Manager

Lateral Moves:

Compliance Analyst (AML/KYC)
Data Analyst (Business Intelligence)
Trust & Safety Specialist
Payments Operations Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Proactively monitor real-time transaction queues and payment channels to identify and investigate suspicious patterns and anomalies indicative of fraudulent activity.
Conduct thorough initial investigations on flagged accounts and transactions by reviewing user data, device fingerprints, transaction history, and other relevant information.
Analyze patterns and emerging trends in fraudulent activities to assist in the development, tuning, and refinement of fraud detection rules and strategies.
Meticulously document all investigative steps, key findings, and actions taken in a clear, concise, and timely manner within our case management system.
Escalate complex, high-impact, or large-scale fraud cases to senior analysts or investigators, providing detailed preliminary findings and supporting evidence.
Assist in the chargeback representment process by systematically gathering and submitting compelling evidence to financial institutions to dispute fraudulent claims.
Perform manual reviews of customer accounts, applications, and profiles that are flagged by our automated systems for potential risk or policy violations.
Review and process user-submitted verification documents (Know Your Customer - KYC) to ensure authenticity and compliance with internal and regulatory requirements.
Communicate with customers via secure channels to verify suspicious transactions or request additional information, maintaining a professional and helpful demeanor.
Place appropriate restrictions, holds, or blocks on accounts and transactions deemed high-risk to proactively mitigate potential financial losses.
Review and adjudicate alerts generated from various fraud detection systems, making sound judgments to minimize both financial risk and negative customer impact.
Collaborate with the Customer Support team to address fraud-related inquiries, resolve customer issues, and provide guidance on account security best practices.
Stay current on emerging fraud typologies, tactics, tools, and technologies within the industry through continuous learning, research, and team knowledge-sharing.
Generate and prepare routine reports on fraud metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), loss rates, and alert volumes for management review.
Support senior analysts in conducting deep-dive analyses on specific fraud vectors, payment methods, or user segments to uncover underlying vulnerabilities.
Analyze account linkages, network connections, and behavioral data to help uncover broader fraud rings and organized fraudulent schemes.
Adhere strictly to all internal policies, operational procedures, and regulatory guidelines related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML), data privacy, and consumer protection.
Participate in the testing and evaluation of new fraud prevention tools, software enhancements, and system rule changes before they are deployed to production.
Contribute actively in team meetings by sharing valuable insights, observed trends, and constructive suggestions for process improvements and operational efficiency.
Maintain a high level of accuracy, quality, and productivity while managing a personal queue of alerts, cases, and other assigned tasks.
Assist in developing and maintaining training materials and internal knowledge-base documentation related to fraud prevention policies and best practices.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer specific business questions related to risk.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by providing user feedback on tools and data sources.
Collaborate with business units, such as Payments and Product, to translate fraud prevention needs into system or engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the broader Risk and Data teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced MS Excel Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to use functions like VLOOKUP, PivotTables, and conditional formatting for data analysis and reporting.
Data Querying Fundamentals: Basic understanding of SQL to pull and filter data for investigations is highly desirable.
Fraud Detection Systems: Experience or familiarity with industry-standard fraud platforms (e.g., Sift, Kount, Cybersource, Accertify) is a major plus.
Case Management Tools: Proficiency in using case management or CRM software (e.g., Salesforce, Zendesk) for documentation and workflow.
Analytical Acumen: Ability to recognize patterns, trends, and anomalies in large datasets.
Knowledge of Payment Ecosystems: Understanding of payment methods like credit/debit cards, ACH, and digital wallets.

Soft Skills

Meticulous Attention to Detail: An exceptional ability to spot inconsistencies and details that others might miss.
Strong Analytical & Critical Thinking: The capacity to analyze information from multiple sources, ask probing questions, and make logical, evidence-based decisions.
Excellent Written and Verbal Communication: Ability to clearly and concisely document findings and communicate complex issues to various audiences.
Sound Judgment and Integrity: A high level of personal integrity and the ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and make ethical judgments under pressure.
Problem-Solving Mindset: A natural curiosity and drive to get to the root cause of a problem and propose effective solutions.
Adaptability & Resilience: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment and manage time effectively across competing priorities.
Collaborative Spirit: A strong team player who can work effectively with cross-functional partners.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate's degree or equivalent relevant work experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Criminal Justice / Criminology
Finance / Economics
Business Administration
Statistics or Data Science

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 0-2 years in a professional environment.

Preferred:

1+ years of experience in a related role within banking, e-commerce, fintech, risk management, or a high-volume customer support environment. Direct exposure to fraud, risk, or payments is highly advantageous.