The Outlier Lab

Newsletters and Podcasts

Ongoing reading and listening for transaction fraud practitioners, checked for activity in 2026, with what each source is best for and its bias.

A sustainable reading routine

CadenceWhatTime
DailySkim one trade-news fraud feed (Payments Dive Fraud, American Banker Fraud, The Paypers Fraud and Fincrime)10 min
WeeklyOne curated newsletter; check FinCEN, FTC and IC3 for new alerts (Regulatory and Government Sources)30 min
WeeklyOne podcast episode on your commute45 min
MonthlyOne deep piece (an enforcement order, an FTA, a long-form investigation) and a team share-out1–2 h

Newsletters and news sources

Fraud, payments and fintech (practitioner-oriented)

SourceWhat it isBest forNote
Fintech Business Weekly (Jason Mikula)Weekly Substack on banking, fintech and crypto; "without fear or favor"Bank-fintech partnerships, BaaS failures, enforcement, sponsor-bank risk (Neobanks and Consumer Fintech)Independent; some content paywalled
Fintech Takes (Alex Johnson)Twice-weekly newsletter (and podcast) on fintech strategyProduct and business-model context behind fraud exposureStrategy-heavy, fraud occasionally
FCI WeeklyWeekly Substack on the intersection of financial-crime fighters, enablers and criminalsAML/fraud convergence, mules, enforcementIndependent author
FiveBy Risk NewsSubstack from FiveBy Solutions covering sanctions, AML and fraud newsFinancial-crime roundupFirm-produced
Frank on Fraud (Frank McKenna)Blog plus an occasional email list. The weekly curated newsletter paused in January 2026 after 156 editionsAnnual fraud predictions (with Karisse Hendrick and Mary Ann Miller); scam and first-party fraud commentaryCheck the blog for current cadence

Trade press (filter to the fraud tag)

SourceFraud sectionBest for
Payments DiveFraud topicNetwork rules, scam liability, processor enforcement, M&A
American BankerFraud tag (Policy and Risk)Bank fraud lawsuits, check fraud, regulator tools, scam liability
The PaypersFraud and FincrimeEuropean and global payments fraud, APP scams, vendor news
PaymentsJournalFraud & SecurityAnalyst commentary on cards, disputes, AI in fraud
PYMNTSFraud and TechREG coverageHigh-volume news; heavy on surveys
BankInfoSecurity (ISMG)Fraud management and cybercrimeWhere fraud meets security: ATO, infostealers, authentication

Security news for the enabler layer

ATO, infostealers, SIM swap and session theft start as security stories. These keep you a few weeks ahead (Session Hijacking and Infostealers, SIM Swap and Port-Out Fraud):

  • Krebs on Security. Investigative reporting on cybercrime groups, breaches and fraud ecosystems. Active in October 2026.
  • The Record (Recorded Future News). Cybercrime and policy news, plus the Cyber Daily newsletter and the Click Here podcast.
  • BleepingComputer. Fast coverage of breaches, malware and infostealer campaigns.

Government feeds that work like newsletters

  • FinCEN email updates (alerts, advisories, enforcement)
  • FTC consumer alerts and Data Spotlight
  • IC3 PSAs
  • FINRA Investor Insights (brokerage-specific scams)

Links are in Regulatory and Government Sources.

Podcasts

Fraud-specific

PodcastHost(s) and producerCadence (2026)Best for
FraudologyKarisse Hendrick; distributed via Sardine's media hubWeekly (episode #426 in Oct 2026)Ecommerce, merchant and payments fraud; practitioner guests; industrialized and AI-driven fraud
Fraud ForwardHailey Windham (Sardine)Weekly; relaunched January 2026 (formerly Banking on Fraudology)Bank and credit union fraud, mules, scams
The Fraud Boxer PodcastJordan Harris, with co-hostsSteady; conference recordings around MRCMerchant fraud leaders, management styles
Fraud TalkACFE staff hostsRoughly monthly (Oct 2026 episode on crypto and pig-butchering research)Investigations, occupational and emerging fraud
ABA FraudcastPaul Benda (American Bankers Association)About every three weeksBank scam prevention, policy; Oct 2026 episode with scam-baiter Kitboga
FraudishKelly PaxtonWeeklyFraud stories and careers; formerly Great Women in Fraud
The Perfect ScamBob Sullivan (AARP Fraud Watch Network)Weekly (Season 24)Victim-perspective scam narratives. Excellent for training support teams (Support Team Fraud Training)
Payments UnboundMike Frost (J.P. Morgan Making Sense feed)IrregularPayments industry context, including fraud episodes
The ProtectorsInternational Association of Financial Crimes InvestigatorsBi-weeklyFraud and cybercrime for consumers and investigators
fraudibleClaire MailletVideo podcastCounter-fraud practitioners paired with academics
Good QuestionInscribeOngoingLLMs and AI agents for fraud and risk teams

Listed as inactive in an early-2026 roundup, but back catalogs are still useful: Trust & Safety Mavericks (Incognia) and the Marketplace Risk podcast, both quiet since mid-2024. Their marketplace and trust-and-safety episodes still hold up (Online Marketplaces).

Security and social engineering

PodcastHost(s)Best for
Hacking Humans (CyberWire)Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, Maria VarmazisSocial engineering and scam pretexts: what customers are hearing (Impersonation Scams)
Darknet DiariesJack RhysiderLong-form stories on hackers, carders and SIM swappers. Good for understanding the Fraud-as-a-Service Ecosystem conceptually
Risky BusinessPatrick Gray, Adam BoileauWeekly security news; infostealers and identity attacks
Smashing SecurityGraham Cluley, Carole TheriaultAccessible security and scam news

Financial crime and AML

  • The Dark Money Files (Graham Barrow, Ray Blake). AML and financial crime analysis, useful for the fraud-to-AML handoff (BSA-AML and SAR Filing).
  • Easy Prey (Chris Parker). Scams, privacy and social engineering, from the consumer side.

Evaluating a new source

  • Who produces it, and what do they sell?
  • Does it cite primary sources (regulators, court filings, network bulletins), or other newsletters?
  • Does it describe mechanisms at a defender-useful level without becoming a how-to? (See Responsible Publication Policy.)
  • Is it still active? Check the last three publication dates.
  • Does it cover your rails and industries (Payment Rails Map, Industries Index)?

Sources and further reading