Case Study
e-Transfer Fraud Mitigation
Snapshot
Focus
Prevent customer fraud losses through clear consent and education
Prevent customer fraud losses through clear consent and education
Prevent customer fraud losses through clear consent and education
Role
Design Lead & Manager
(Player-Coach)
Design Lead & Manager
(Player-Coach)
Design Lead & Manager
(Player-Coach)
Team
Product, Engineering, Content Design, and Legal & Fraud Ops
Product, Engineering, Content Design, and Legal & Fraud Ops
Product, Engineering, Content Design, and Legal & Fraud Ops
Timeline
Q4 2024 - Q2 2025
(Discovery → Launch)
Q4 2024 - Q2 2025
(Discovery → Launch)
Q4 2024 - Q2 2025
(Discovery → Launch)
TL;DR
When rising e-Transfer scams began costing Scotiabank millions and driving up support calls, I stepped in to lead a high-priority initiative that had no design resources and a tight design deadline. By reframing the problem, narrowing the scope, and aligning Product, Legal, and Fraud Ops around a single outcome, we delivered a clear, educational consent experience that helped customers recognize risk and reduced fraud-related calls within weeks of launch.
When rising e-Transfer scams began costing Scotiabank millions and driving up support calls, I stepped in to lead a high-priority initiative that had no design resources and a tight design deadline. By reframing the problem, narrowing the scope, and aligning Product, Legal, and Fraud Ops around a single outcome, we delivered a clear, educational consent experience that helped customers recognize risk and reduced fraud-related calls within weeks of launch.
When rising e-Transfer scams began costing Scotiabank millions and driving up support calls, I stepped in to lead a high-priority initiative that had no design resources and a tight design deadline. By reframing the problem, narrowing the scope, and aligning Product, Legal, and Fraud Ops around a single outcome, we delivered a clear, educational consent experience that helped customers recognize risk and reduced fraud-related calls within weeks of launch.
The Challenge
Fraudulent e-Transfers were increasing, resulting in major financial losses and a spike in call volumes from customers who had been scammed. Once money left their account, it could not be recovered, and support teams were absorbing the backlash.
Scotiabank needed to:
Warn customers before they completed risky transfers
Reduce call centre escalations related to fraud
Do it without adding friction for legitimate transactions
The problem was compounded by timing and capacity:
The design team was already at full workload
No clear design owner across Product, Fraud, or Engineering
The project had to be delivered in weeks, not months
I chose to personally lead strategy and design execution, treating it as a proof-of-concept for how design could move fast without sacrificing quality.
Fraudulent e-Transfers were increasing, resulting in major financial losses and a spike in call volumes from customers who had been scammed. Once money left their account, it could not be recovered, and support teams were absorbing the backlash.
Scotiabank needed to:
Warn customers before they completed risky transfers
Reduce call centre escalations related to fraud
Do it without adding friction for legitimate transactions
The problem was compounded by timing and capacity:
The design team was already at full workload
No clear design owner across Product, Fraud, or Engineering
The project had to be delivered in weeks, not months
I chose to personally lead strategy and design execution, treating it as a proof-of-concept for how design could move fast without sacrificing quality.
Fraudulent e-Transfers were increasing, resulting in major financial losses and a spike in call volumes from customers who had been scammed. Once money left their account, it could not be recovered, and support teams were absorbing the backlash.
Scotiabank needed to:
Warn customers before they completed risky transfers
Reduce call centre escalations related to fraud
Do it without adding friction for legitimate transactions
The problem was compounded by timing and capacity:
The design team was already at full workload
No clear design owner across Product, Fraud, or Engineering
The project had to be delivered in weeks, not months
I chose to personally lead strategy and design execution, treating it as a proof-of-concept for how design could move fast without sacrificing quality.
The Approach
To cut through ambiguity, I facilitated a series of alignment workshops with Product, Fraud, and Engineering to define objectives, constraints, and ownership. Together we prioritized a lean solution that addressed immediate risk while paving the way for a scalable, multi-phase fraud-education model.
I mapped the full end-to-end flow for both add-a-contact and send-a-transaction journeys, analyzing every screen to find the lowest-friction point where we could introduce educational messaging without disrupting task completion.
Next, I partnered with Fraud Operations to categorize contact relationship risk types, ranging from high risk (for example, merchants or online acquaintances and sellers) to low risk (such as family, friends, and co-workers). We also mapped out risk by region, domain and frequency of edits. This segmentation framework allowed us to tailor the level of friction and warning based on likelihood of fraud exposure.
To cut through ambiguity, I facilitated a series of alignment workshops with Product, Fraud, and Engineering to define objectives, constraints, and ownership. Together we prioritized a lean solution that addressed immediate risk while paving the way for a scalable, multi-phase fraud-education model.
I mapped the full end-to-end flow for both add-a-contact and send-a-transaction journeys, analyzing every screen to find the lowest-friction point where we could introduce educational messaging without disrupting task completion.
Next, I partnered with Fraud Operations to categorize contact relationship risk types, ranging from high risk (for example, merchants or online acquaintances and sellers) to low risk (such as family, friends, and co-workers). We also mapped out risk by region, domain and frequency of edits. This segmentation framework allowed us to tailor the level of friction and warning based on likelihood of fraud exposure.
To cut through ambiguity, I facilitated a series of alignment workshops with Product, Fraud, and Engineering to define objectives, constraints, and ownership. Together we prioritized a lean solution that addressed immediate risk while paving the way for a scalable, multi-phase fraud-education model.
I mapped the full end-to-end flow for both add-a-contact and send-a-transaction journeys, analyzing every screen to find the lowest-friction point where we could introduce educational messaging without disrupting task completion.
Next, I partnered with Fraud Operations to categorize contact relationship risk types, ranging from high risk (for example, merchants or online acquaintances and sellers) to low risk (such as family, friends, and co-workers). We also mapped out risk by region, domain and frequency of edits. This segmentation framework allowed us to tailor the level of friction and warning based on likelihood of fraud exposure.
As a result, we landed on a tiered design model:
A warning screen triggered for high-risk transfers
Three short, plain-language bullets that explain scam risks clearly based on risk category
An acknowledgement-oriented CTA button to ensure users pause and consent before continuing.
By visualizing these options side-by-side, stakeholders could quickly assess trade-offs between user friction, risk tolerance, and technical effort which accelerated alignment and approval.
As a result, we landed on a tiered design model:
A warning screen triggered for high-risk transfers
Three short, plain-language bullets that explain scam risks clearly based on risk category
An acknowledgement-oriented CTA button to ensure users pause and consent before continuing.
By visualizing these options side-by-side, stakeholders could quickly assess trade-offs between user friction, risk tolerance, and technical effort which accelerated alignment and approval.
As a result, we landed on a tiered design model:
A warning screen triggered for high-risk transfers
Three short, plain-language bullets that explain scam risks clearly based on risk category
An acknowledgement-oriented CTA button to ensure users pause and consent before continuing.
By visualizing these options side-by-side, stakeholders could quickly assess trade-offs between user friction, risk tolerance, and technical effort which accelerated alignment and approval.
Pivot: Adjusting Scope
After the initial proposal went through leadership review, several new constraints surfaced that required us to rethink the scope. Rather than treating it as a setback, I treated it as a pivot. The goal shifted from a large, multi-phase solution to something more focused that could move quickly, demonstrate progress, and create space for future enhancements.
The biggest challenge was capacity. Engineering was managing heavy backlogs and tight delivery windows, which meant we needed to fit the work into the existing sprint plan. We kept the solution lean by focusing on what could realistically be delivered during the summer without disrupting other commitments. Ideas such as a customer acknowledgement step or hard blocks for risky transactions were postponed since they required new databases and backend development that could not be completed in this release.
To maintain momentum, I aligned the design with what could be shipped using existing resources and timelines. I worked closely with Product, Fraud, and Engineering to set clear expectations about what we could achieve now and what would be deferred. Being transparent about these trade-offs helped maintain trust and avoided unrealistic assumptions about what design could take on.
After the initial proposal went through leadership review, several new constraints surfaced that required us to rethink the scope. Rather than treating it as a setback, I treated it as a pivot. The goal shifted from a large, multi-phase solution to something more focused that could move quickly, demonstrate progress, and create space for future enhancements.
The biggest challenge was capacity. Engineering was managing heavy backlogs and tight delivery windows, which meant we needed to fit the work into the existing sprint plan. We kept the solution lean by focusing on what could realistically be delivered during the summer without disrupting other commitments. Ideas such as a customer acknowledgement step or hard blocks for risky transactions were postponed since they required new databases and backend development that could not be completed in this release.
To maintain momentum, I aligned the design with what could be shipped using existing resources and timelines. I worked closely with Product, Fraud, and Engineering to set clear expectations about what we could achieve now and what would be deferred. Being transparent about these trade-offs helped maintain trust and avoided unrealistic assumptions about what design could take on.
After the initial proposal went through leadership review, several new constraints surfaced that required us to rethink the scope. Rather than treating it as a setback, I treated it as a pivot. The goal shifted from a large, multi-phase solution to something more focused that could move quickly, demonstrate progress, and create space for future enhancements.
The biggest challenge was capacity. Engineering was managing heavy backlogs and tight delivery windows, which meant we needed to fit the work into the existing sprint plan. We kept the solution lean by focusing on what could realistically be delivered during the summer without disrupting other commitments. Ideas such as a customer acknowledgement step or hard blocks for risky transactions were postponed since they required new databases and backend development that could not be completed in this release.
To maintain momentum, I aligned the design with what could be shipped using existing resources and timelines. I worked closely with Product, Fraud, and Engineering to set clear expectations about what we could achieve now and what would be deferred. Being transparent about these trade-offs helped maintain trust and avoided unrealistic assumptions about what design could take on.
In the end, the focus was on two things:
The messaging. We landed on a direct, factual warning after careful collaboration with Legal, Compliance, and Fraud Operations. The copy needed to be clear, accurate, and protective of both customers and the bank.
Targeted delivery. The warning appears only for a small group of high-risk contacts identified through fraud analytics. This ensured the message was specific, credible, and effective without disrupting the regular experience for other users.
I worked with cross-functional partners to lock scope, sequence dependencies, and communicate trade-offs transparently. Throughout, I coached a content designer and junior product designer on rapid iteration under constraints, ensuring the team delivered efficiently while maintaining quality.
In the end, the focus was on two things:
The messaging. We landed on a direct, factual warning after careful collaboration with Legal, Compliance, and Fraud Operations. The copy needed to be clear, accurate, and protective of both customers and the bank.
Targeted delivery. The warning appears only for a small group of high-risk contacts identified through fraud analytics. This ensured the message was specific, credible, and effective without disrupting the regular experience for other users.
I worked with cross-functional partners to lock scope, sequence dependencies, and communicate trade-offs transparently. Throughout, I coached a content designer and junior product designer on rapid iteration under constraints, ensuring the team delivered efficiently while maintaining quality.
In the end, the focus was on two things:
The messaging. We landed on a direct, factual warning after careful collaboration with Legal, Compliance, and Fraud Operations. The copy needed to be clear, accurate, and protective of both customers and the bank.
Targeted delivery. The warning appears only for a small group of high-risk contacts identified through fraud analytics. This ensured the message was specific, credible, and effective without disrupting the regular experience for other users.
I worked with cross-functional partners to lock scope, sequence dependencies, and communicate trade-offs transparently. Throughout, I coached a content designer and junior product designer on rapid iteration under constraints, ensuring the team delivered efficiently while maintaining quality.
Outcomes
The new fraud warning launched in July 2025 and showed measurable behavioral shifts within days, helping customers recognize risk and make safer transfer decisions. As of September, the results show clear positive impact and sustained engagement.
The new fraud warning launched in July 2025 and showed measurable behavioral shifts within days, helping customers recognize risk and make safer transfer decisions. As of September, the results show clear positive impact and sustained engagement.
The new fraud warning launched in July 2025 and showed measurable behavioral shifts within days, helping customers recognize risk and make safer transfer decisions. As of September, the results show clear positive impact and sustained engagement.
8,069
users added a high-risk contact and were shown the new warning
users added a high-risk contact and were shown the new warning
users added a high-risk contact and were shown the new warning
18%
users chose not to complete the transfer after seeing the message
users chose not to complete the transfer after seeing the message
users chose not to complete the transfer after seeing the message
2%
users clicked through to learn more about scams
users clicked through to learn more about scams
users clicked through to learn more about scams
This confirms that the intervention successfully encouraged caution and early engagement with educational content, while fraud-related call volumes began trending downward, easing pressure on support teams.
The early data proved that small, well-timed interventions can meaningfully change customer behaviour while protecting both clients and the bank. Beyond the metrics, the project shifted how the organization approaches urgent work. It showed that design can move fast, stay compliant, and still deliver thoughtful, high-quality outcomes.
For me, the biggest success was not the interface itself but the shift in mindset. This project helped the business see design as a strategic partner in managing risk, not just a delivery function.
This confirms that the intervention successfully encouraged caution and early engagement with educational content, while fraud-related call volumes began trending downward, easing pressure on support teams.
The early data proved that small, well-timed interventions can meaningfully change customer behaviour while protecting both clients and the bank. Beyond the metrics, the project shifted how the organization approaches urgent work. It showed that design can move fast, stay compliant, and still deliver thoughtful, high-quality outcomes.
For me, the biggest success was not the interface itself but the shift in mindset. This project helped the business see design as a strategic partner in managing risk, not just a delivery function.
This confirms that the intervention successfully encouraged caution and early engagement with educational content, while fraud-related call volumes began trending downward, easing pressure on support teams.
The early data proved that small, well-timed interventions can meaningfully change customer behaviour while protecting both clients and the bank. Beyond the metrics, the project shifted how the organization approaches urgent work. It showed that design can move fast, stay compliant, and still deliver thoughtful, high-quality outcomes.
For me, the biggest success was not the interface itself but the shift in mindset. This project helped the business see design as a strategic partner in managing risk, not just a delivery function.