Digital Fraud Investigator

About MCU:

At Municipal Credit Union, we believe that an incredible culture helps create a happy and motivated team that works hard to achieve the best results for themselves and their members. For more than 100 years, MCU has provided affordable financial products and convenient services to a membership base that is now comprised of over 600,000 individuals. With each new generation we have the pleasure of interacting with, we maintain the credit union promise of people helping people.

Our Mission:

To help hard-working New Yorkers build better tomorrows

Our Vision:

Be New York's most loved financial institution by helping our members build their best financial futures

Overview: The Digital Fraud Investigator serves as a senior operational and analytical resource within the Financial Crimes & Intelligence division, playing a pivotal role in safeguarding the organization against increasingly sophisticated and rapidly evolving digital fraud threats. This position is accountable for proactively identifying, investigating, and mitigating fraud across digital channels while upholding the highest standards of loss prevention, regulatory compliance, and member protection.

Operating autonomously and expert level judgment, the Investigator functions as a strategic partner to Financial Crimes & Intelligence leadership, Risk Management, and cross functional business units. The role collaborates closely with the Vice President of Financial Crimes & Intelligence management to enhance investigative methodologies, identify systemic control and procedural gaps, and strengthen enterprise-wide fraud-prevention strategies. Additionally, the Investigator assesses the impact of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, behavioral analytics, and advanced automation on the digital fraud landscape, ensuring the organization remains resilient and adaptive.

Responsibilities:

Investigations and Digital Analysis:

• Performs the monitoring, detection, and investigation of suspicious activity across digital platforms-including mobile banking, Zelle,Verafin,BioCatch, digital wallets, and emerging payment technologies-to identify and mitigate complex fraud schemes. Utilize tools, data analytics, and expert judgment to detect indicators of device spoofing, session hijacking, account takeover, social engineering, synthetic identities, and other sophisticated fraud typologies.
• Apply working knowledge of AI and machine learning-driven detection tools, including understanding AI-enabled fraud typologies, model limitations, false positives, and emerging risks associated with automation and generative technologies.
• Interview members, employees, and third parties to gather facts, validate claims, and substantiate investigative conclusions.
• Collaborates with peer financial institutions, fraud consortiums, and financial crimes units to confirm fraud activity, identify common actors, and detect emerging trends.
• Conducting-depth digital forensic investigations, including IP analysis, device fingerprinting, behavioral biometrics, and detailed log review.
• Prepare comprehensive, timely, and audit ready investigative reports within the Case Management System (CMS), documenting findings, evidence, and recommending actions.
• Preserve and maintain evidentiary materials in accordance with legal, regulatory, and chain of custody requirements.
• Communicate directly with members and branch personnel regarding fraud claims, investigative progress, and case outcomes.
• Escalate complex, high with analysis and recommended next steps. Provide testimony as a fact or expert witness in criminal or civil proceedings when required.
• Follow established procedures to apply BSA/AML, Regulation E, and applicable to federal, state, and local regulatory requirements in daily investigative activities.
• Applies knowledge of BSA/AML,Regulation E, and all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory requirements through consistent application of established procedures. Prepare-quality Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with clear, comprehensive, and analytically robust narratives aligned with FinCEN expectations. Ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness across all SAR fields, supporting documentation, and investigative findings. Promote quality, consistency, and regulatory compliance across all Financial Crimes & Intelligence operations, ensuring alignment with established policies and procedures throughout the MCU footprint.
• Execute testing, validation and continuous tuning of fraud controls and detection rules to enhance digital security and reduce financial losses.
• Conduct advanced analysis of fraud trends, behavioral patterns, and root cause drivers to proactively shape preventive strategies and long-term risk-mitigation planning.

• Identify and assess control weaknesses, policy gaps, and procedural deficiencies contributing to fraud exposure, and provide recommendations that elevate organizational controls and reduce risk.
• Collaborate with Operations, IT, Risk, and other key stakeholders to analyze fraud trends, troubleshoot issues and support the enhancement of fraud prevention processes and systems.
• Contribute to fraud awareness efforts by providing insights, case examples, and trend analysis to support employee and member education.
• Maintain detailed, accurate and audit ready documentation to support internal audits, regulatory examinations and legal inquiries. Applies quality control standards to ensure all investigative work products meet or exceed audit, legal, and regulatory standards.
• Ensure completion of all required annual BSA/AML, fraud, and cybersecurity training while modeling a culture of compliance excellence.
• Maintain up-to-date expertise on emerging fraud typologies, regulatory developments, technological advancements, and industry best practices.
• Participate in fraud roundtables, industry forums, and professional development engagements, to stay current on emerging threats and investigative best practices.
• Share knowledge and provide informal guidance to peers to promote consistent investigative practices and skill development.
• Apply a detail-oriented, intelligent-driven approach to support established methodologies and continuous refining techniques.
• Serve as the primary contact and advisor for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, strengthening interagency partnerships and advancing complex investigations.
• Exercise judgment in reviewing and recommending members for denial of services or expulsion when conduct exceeds organizational risk tolerance or violates the Member Code of Conduct.
• Contribute to special projects and initiatives by providing investigative insights, data analysis, and subject matter expertise related to digital fraud risk.

Requirements:

• Bachelor or Associate degree in Criminal Justice, Business, or Accounting,or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience will be considered.
  5-7+ years of progressive experience in digital fraud investigations, financial crimes analysis, and/or digital payment channel operations, with demonstrated expertise in complex casework.
• Deep understanding of Zelle Risk Management Operating Procedures and digital payment risk frameworks, with the ability to apply them in high-risk investigative scenarios.
• Proven ability to synthesize data across multiple technologies and platforms to identify, assess, and validate fraudulent activity.
• Industry-recognized certifications such as Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) or similar credentials are highly desirable. Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local criminal statutes, banking regulations, and financial crimes compliance requirements.
• Flexibility to work nonstandard as business needs require, including support during high-risk events or urgent investigative escalations.

• Uncompromising integrity and the ability to handle sensitive, confidential, and legally significant information with discretion.
• Self-starter with strong initiative, sound judgment, and a proactive, solution-oriented mindset.
• Professional demeanor and team-oriented approach, contributing positively to a high-performance investigative culture.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and partner across teams.
• Ability to manage high-volume workloads, prioritize effectively, meet deadlines, and maintain exceptional attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
  High technological aptitude with the ability to quickly adapt to new tools, evolving fraud tactics, and emerging digital risk echnologies. Proficiencywith leading fraud monitoring and case-management platforms, including Verafin, BioCatch, and Zelle(preferred)

Why you'll be a good fit:

Our Core Values are an integral part of who we are and who we hire. By living our Core Values, every day, we continue to attract the best and brightest talent, achieve unsurpassed results and continuously challenge ourselves to be better than yesterday. These values are at the heart of our organization and within every teammate. To be a great fit, you'll bring the following

Results - We are passionate about winning.

Agility - We proactively anticipate, respond and pivot to ensure MCU wins.

Integrity - We operate with the highest ethical standards and highest degree of honesty.

Belonging - We cultivate a culture of inclusion and teamwork.

Ownership - We take personal responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for the results.

Why You'll Love Working Here:

The pay range for this position is between $81,700-113,400 annually. Actual base pay offered may vary depending on a number of factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Employees in this position may also be eligible for a discretionary bonus, 401(k) with an 6% employer match per pay period. Benefits for this position include Medical, vision, dental, life, and disability insurance, flexible paid time off and 11 paid holidays annually.

Municipal Credit Union (MCU) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Municipal Credit Union provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

We are committed to hiring, training, cultivating, promoting, and celebrating an environment where we have a welcoming and fulfilling place for all people to call home. Diversity of race, thought, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, religion, and disability will empower us to thrive as individuals, as teams, and as an organization.