Celebrating Women in Fraud Prevention

These interviews are part of our Women in Fraud series on our Good Question podcast, and in them we highlight the people behind the mission to protect customers, catch bad actors, and shape the future of financial services.

While women make up almost half of the global workforce, according to a report by Women's World Banking, women occupy 18% of C-suite and board leadership roles globally in financial institutions. That makes these voices (and their insights) even more critical. From tactical problem-solving to strategic advocacy, women in fraud are helping reshape how the industry approaches both prevention and protection.

Each guest brought something unique to the table: from early careers in law enforcement and cybercrime, to leading strategic fraud functions at some of the world’s most trusted financial institutions. A few themes came up again and again—the power of passion, the promise of AI, and the need to use your voice.

Here are the highlights from each conversation.

Nicole Ryan-Batz, UBS: “Use your voice. Speak up.”

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Nicole shares her journey from bank teller to fraud specialist at UBS, where she now writes fraud monitoring procedures and supports daily detection efforts using SQL and SAS. Her advice to women in fraud? Speak up, especially when you’re early in your career. Nicole also explains how UBS is beginning to layer in AI to support anomaly detection and better understand client behavior.

Andrea Valentin, Old Glory Bank: "Do it scared."

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Andrea fell into fraud from a background in early crypto investigations, and has spent over 20 years in the field. Now the SVP of Fraud and Risk at Old Glory Bank, she’s focused on making onboarding safer through technology and layering AI into both fraud detection and back-office automation. Her advice to other women in fraud? "Do it scared" and keep building your confidence through networking.

Amanda Balmer, PSECU: “Step back and see the big picture.”

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Starting as an intelligence analyst, Amanda now leads the fraud team at PSECU. She shares how AI and LLMs are being used to support fraud detection and strategy, but emphasizes the importance of taking a step back to see the broader context. Amanda highlights the emotional toll this work can take and offers a grounded reminder to keep perspective.

Angela Diaz, First Citizens Bank: “Be your authentic self.”

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Angela reflects on her path from customer service to a leadership role in second-line risk at First Citizens Bank. She speaks passionately about the importance of building scalable frameworks, using AI for faster and more accurate decision-making, and advocating for yourself. Her story is a powerful reminder that confidence and kindness can go hand-in-hand.

Maria Pukhovskaya, Bill.com: “Fraud is a challenge with purpose.”

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Maria dreamed of becoming a Secret Service agent, but instead found her calling in fraud strategy. Now at Bill.com, she’s focused on making fraud a business enabler, not just a cost center. Her team is moving away from third-party vendor reliance and building proprietary models using first-party data. Her advice to others? Be curious and build real connections.

Hailey Windham, Mission Omega: “The people need us.”

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Hailey wears many hats—fraud leader at Mission Omega, host of the Banking on Fraudology podcast, and advocate for fraud victims through Operation Shamrock. She talks about the need for fraud fighters to adopt AI, not as a replacement, but as a force multiplier. Hailey’s passion for helping people and pushing the industry forward is undeniable.

Check out more on Good Question

These interviews are just the beginning. Each story offers a window into what it means to work in fraud prevention today—the complexity, the urgency, and the heart behind it all.

We invite you to watch the full episodes, embedded above, and explore more conversations from our Good Question podcast. Because asking good questions is how we uncover even better answers!

🎧 Check out more episodes of Good Question here. 

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