FRAUD, AML & RISK ADVISORY FOR TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
Build risk systems that protect growth, not slow it down.
Build risk systems that protect growth, not slow it down.
I help fintech, marketplace, and scaling technology companies design and modernize fraud, AML, compliance, and risk operations; from strategy and controls to tooling, data, and team execution.
I help fintech, marketplace, and scaling technology companies design and modernize fraud, AML, compliance, and risk operations; from strategy and controls to tooling, data, and team execution.
Experience across high-growth technology and financial services
Uber
Eventbrite
Zoosk
Plastiq
Branch
Zeni
Nearly 20 years building and leading risk programs across technology, marketplaces, payments, and fintech.
Nearly 20 years building and leading risk programs across technology, marketplaces, payments, and fintech.
Nearly 20 years building and leading risk programs across technology, marketplaces, payments, and fintech.
Nearly 20 years building and leading risk programs across technology, marketplaces, payments, and fintech.
WHEN CLIENTS CALL
Risk gets harder as the business grows.
Risk gets harder as the business grows.
Tal Yeshanov works with teams at inflection points; when existing controls, tools, or operating models can no longer keep up with the business.
Tal Yeshanov works with teams at inflection points; when existing controls, tools, or operating models can no longer keep up with the business.
01
Growth is moving faster than the risk program.
02
Fraud or compliance controls are creating too much customer friction.
03
Point solutions, manual reviews, and tribal knowledge are limiting the team.
04
A new product, market, audit, or regulatory milestone requires a stronger operating model.
05
The company needs experienced risk leadership before making a permanent hire.
SERVICES
Focused help for consequential risk problems.
Focused help for consequential risk problems.
01
Executive Risk Advisory
Experienced perspective for your most important risk decisions.
Best for: For founders, executives, and risk leaders who have a team to execute and want a senior advisor to help set direction.
I help prioritize investments, pressure test fraud strategies, evaluate technology, and assess launch readiness; balancing losses, customer experience, and the cost of managing risk.
You get: Clear recommendations, challenged assumptions, and actionable priorities.
Typical engagement: Monthly advisory support with scheduled working sessions and decision reviews.
Experienced perspective for your most important risk decisions.
Best for: For founders, executives, and risk leaders who have a team to execute and want a senior advisor to help set direction.
I help prioritize investments, pressure test fraud strategies, evaluate technology, and assess launch readiness; balancing losses, customer experience, and the cost of managing risk.
You get: Clear recommendations, challenged assumptions, and actionable priorities.
Typical engagement: Monthly advisory support with scheduled working sessions and decision reviews.
02
Focused Risk Project
Hands-on expertise to solve a defined problem.
Best for: For teams that need dedicated support to assess a challenge, implement improvements, and measure results.
Fraud & payments: Mitigate chargebacks and strengthen dispute responses. Audit, write, and tune fraud rules. Build controls that adapt to customer and transaction risk to improve payment acceptance and reduce false positives.
Programs & operations: Improve identity verification, transaction monitoring, investigations, and account and payout protections. Strengthen policies, team responsibilities, automation, and quality assurance.
Technology & launches: Compare vendors, design and evaluate proof-of-concept tests, and establish controls for new products and payment flows. Advise technology providers on product workflows, customer pilots, and buyer needs.
You get: Agreed deliverables, practical improvements, and metrics to track their impact.
Typical engagement: A defined scope with agreed milestones, deliverables, timeline, and success criteria.
Hands-on expertise to solve a defined problem.
Best for: For teams that need dedicated support to assess a challenge, implement improvements, and measure results.
Fraud & payments: Mitigate chargebacks and strengthen dispute responses. Audit, write, and tune fraud rules. Build controls that adapt to customer and transaction risk to improve payment acceptance and reduce false positives.
Programs & operations: Improve identity verification, transaction monitoring, investigations, and account and payout protections. Strengthen policies, team responsibilities, automation, and quality assurance.
Technology & launches: Compare vendors, design and evaluate proof-of-concept tests, and establish controls for new products and payment flows. Advise technology providers on product workflows, customer pilots, and buyer needs.
You get: Agreed deliverables, practical improvements, and metrics to track their impact.
Typical engagement: A defined scope with agreed milestones, deliverables, timeline, and success criteria.
03
Fractional Leadership
A part-time Head of Risk with ownership and accountability.
Best for: For businesses building a risk function, scaling a team, or navigating a leadership gap.
I set strategy and risk tolerance, lead teams, and oversee execution across fraud, payments, and compliance operations. I align Product, Engineering, Data Science, and Compliance around clear priorities and performance measures; including fraud losses, payment acceptance, customer friction, and operational efficiency.
When you’re ready for a permanent leader, I can help define the role, support hiring, and transition ownership.
You get: An accountable leader, a clear roadmap, and ongoing oversight of execution and results.
Typical engagement: A multi-month engagement with agreed weekly involvement and leadership responsibilities.
A part-time Head of Risk with ownership and accountability.
Best for: For businesses building a risk function, scaling a team, or navigating a leadership gap.
I set strategy and risk tolerance, lead teams, and oversee execution across fraud, payments, and compliance operations. I align Product, Engineering, Data Science, and Compliance around clear priorities and performance measures; including fraud losses, payment acceptance, customer friction, and operational efficiency.
When you’re ready for a permanent leader, I can help define the role, support hiring, and transition ownership.
You get: An accountable leader, a clear roadmap, and ongoing oversight of execution and results.
Typical engagement: A multi-month engagement with agreed weekly involvement and leadership responsibilities.
APPROACH
See the whole journey. Build for the real business.
See the whole journey. Build for the real business.
01
Look beyond the transaction
Individual device, payment, identity, and behavioral signals are only pieces of the picture. Effective risk programs understand the customer journey and how risks connect.
Individual device, payment, identity, and behavioral signals are only pieces of the picture. Effective risk programs understand the customer journey and how risks connect.
02
Balance protection and growth
Strong controls should stop harmful behavior while preserving legitimate customer activity and supporting the company’s commercial goals.
Strong controls should stop harmful behavior while preserving legitimate customer activity and supporting the company’s commercial goals.
03
Leave an operating system behind
Recommendations must translate into ownership, workflows, data, documentation, and decisions the team can sustain after the engagement.
Recommendations must translate into ownership, workflows, data, documentation, and decisions the team can sustain after the engagement.
EXPERIENCE
Built by an operator, not an outside observer.
Built by an operator, not an outside observer.
Tal Yeshanov is a risk and AML executive with nearly 20 years of experience across leading technology and fintech companies. Her career has included building fraud programs at companies such as Eventbrite and Uber during periods of rapid growth, modernizing risk operations and decisioning, leading teams across fraud, payments, AML, compliance, and strategic financial operations, and advising emerging risk-technology companies. Tal is known for solving problems where the business model is evolving faster than the available playbook. Her work connects strategy with implementation: the controls, data, tools, processes, and teams required to operate a modern risk program.
Tal Yeshanov is a risk and AML executive with nearly 20 years of experience across leading technology and fintech companies. Her career has included building fraud programs at companies such as Eventbrite and Uber during periods of rapid growth, modernizing risk operations and decisioning, leading teams across fraud, payments, AML, compliance, and strategic financial operations, and advising emerging risk-technology companies. Tal is known for solving problems where the business model is evolving faster than the available playbook. Her work connects strategy with implementation: the controls, data, tools, processes, and teams required to operate a modern risk program.
INSIGHTS
A practical point of view on modern risk.
A practical point of view on modern risk.
FEATURED CONVERSATION
From Snapshot to Journey: Holistic Fraud Detection in the Age of AI
From Snapshot to Journey: Holistic Fraud Detection in the Age of AI
A Fraudology conversation about customer-journey signals, orchestration, false positives, institutional knowledge, account security, and where AI genuinely improves risk operations.
A Fraudology conversation about customer-journey signals, orchestration, false positives, institutional knowledge, account security, and where AI genuinely improves risk operations.
PODCAST
AI Fraud Detection Is Now a Commodity! Here’s What Actually Wins
AI Fraud Detection Is Now a Commodity! Here’s What Actually Wins
Tal joins industry experts on the Fraud Boxer Podcast to explore why AI models are becoming commodities, and why structured risk knowledge, fraud typologies, and institutional expertise are the real competitive advantage.
Tal joins industry experts on the Fraud Boxer Podcast to explore why AI models are becoming commodities, and why structured risk knowledge, fraud typologies, and institutional expertise are the real competitive advantage.
PRESENTATION
Using Analytics to Stop Fraud by Understanding User Behaviors
Using Analytics to Stop Fraud by Understanding User Behaviors
In this Uber Tech Day presentation, Tal explains how behavioral analytics can uncover fraud patterns and strengthen risk decision-making at scale.
In this Uber Tech Day presentation, Tal explains how behavioral analytics can uncover fraud patterns and strengthen risk decision-making at scale.
PANEL
Make It or Buy It? FraudCON Panel
Make It or Buy It? FraudCON Panel
Tal joins fellow risk leaders to discuss when companies should build fraud capabilities internally and when purchasing an external solution makes better strategic sense.
Tal joins fellow risk leaders to discuss when companies should build fraud capabilities internally and when purchasing an external solution makes better strategic sense.
CONVERSATION
Creating a Fraud Typology for AI to Learn From
Creating a Fraud Typology for AI to Learn From
A conversation about transforming institutional fraud knowledge and typologies into structured intelligence that AI agents can use for faster, context-aware investigations.
A conversation about transforming institutional fraud knowledge and typologies into structured intelligence that AI agents can use for faster, context-aware investigations.
ARTICLE
What Is Friendly Fraud and How Does Plastiq Help Protect Your Business?
What Is Friendly Fraud and How Does Plastiq Help Protect Your Business?
Tal explains the growing impact of first-party misuse, along with practical approaches to chargeback prevention, compelling evidence, and representment.
Tal explains the growing impact of first-party misuse, along with practical approaches to chargeback prevention, compelling evidence, and representment.
ARTICLE
Eliminating Friendly Fraud: 10 Friendly Tips from Uber
Eliminating Friendly Fraud: 10 Friendly Tips from Uber
Ten practical tactics from Uber for preventing friendly fraud, reducing avoidable chargebacks, and improving the economics of representment.
Ten practical tactics from Uber for preventing friendly fraud, reducing avoidable chargebacks, and improving the economics of representment.
ARTICLE
Holiday Fraud Prevention: Seven Tips from the Pros
Holiday Fraud Prevention: Seven Tips from the Pros
Seven expert strategies for preparing fraud operations for seasonal spikes, including Tal’s advice on adapting rules and models to changing holiday purchasing behavior.
Seven expert strategies for preparing fraud operations for seasonal spikes, including Tal’s advice on adapting rules and models to changing holiday purchasing behavior.
PANEL
What POCs Are Not Telling You About Real Performance Results
What POCs Are Not Telling You About Real Performance Results
Tal and fellow industry experts explain how merchants can structure fraud-platform proofs of concept that more accurately predict real-world performance.
Tal and fellow industry experts explain how merchants can structure fraud-platform proofs of concept that more accurately predict real-world performance.
INTERVIEW
Friendly fraud is not friendly.
Friendly fraud is not friendly.
Why evidence, behavioral context, and layered signals matter when addressing chargebacks and first-party misuse.
Why evidence, behavioral context, and layered signals matter when addressing chargebacks and first-party misuse.
CONTACT
Bring me the risk problem that no longer fits the old playbook.
Bring me the risk problem that no longer fits the old playbook.
For founders and executives who need an experienced operator to assess the problem, clarify the decisions, and help the team execute.
For founders and executives who need an experienced operator to assess the problem, clarify the decisions, and help the team execute.
Prefer email? Send a brief description of the challenge and I’ll respond directly.
Prefer email? Send a brief description of the challenge and I’ll respond directly.