The Next Evolution of Fraud Defense: Unlocking Collective Intelligence with Sonar AI (with Ravi Loganathan)

Banking on Fraudology is presented by Sardine.ai.

In this episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham sits down with Ravi Loganathan, Co-founder and President of Sonar AI and Head of Banking and Policy at Sardine. Ravi, who has over 20 years in banking and consortium work with institutions like Early Warning Services, Zelle, and Bank of America, has been leading the charge at Sardine to make intelligent sharing accessible and actionable for all institutions.

The conversation dives deep into the concept of collective intelligence, which Ravi describes as a "must-have" in the age of accelerating AI-driven scams. Fraudsters exploit information sharing gaps by jumping from one institution (like a fintech) to another (like a large regulated bank), making an ecosystem-wide defense essential.

Key Takeaways: Unlocking Collective Intelligence with Sonar AI

• The Sonar AI Origin Story: Sonar AI was kickstarted three years ago by a group of banks and fintechs to fill a critical gap: the lack of infrastructure for real-time risk information sharing when funds movement or instant settlement is authorized. This was driven by the need to combat authorized push payment (APP) fraud, particularly concerning the lack of insights on the recipient.
• How Sonar AI Works: Sonar AI is an industry utility. Before an institution authorizes a fund movement or account opening, they can inquire into Sonar on the entity conducting the transaction. Sonar returns curated signals (often simplified to "high, medium, low" risk, block list status, etc.) for the institution to augment their existing risk decisioning process. In return, the institution provides feedback, benefiting the next inquiring member.
• Regulatory Foundation: Sonar AI is built on a strong regulatory framework, having worked with FinCEN to receive 314(b) designation to form an association of financial institutions. It also facilitates broader fraud signal sharing under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
• Empowering Smaller FIs: Sonar AI offers features specifically for smaller community banks and credit unions, including batch contribution and batch inquiry to eliminate the need for immediate API tech builds. Ravi details their collaboration with the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) accelerator program to embed Sardine's solutions into core providers and invite FIs to join Sonar as members.
• Future Innovations: Ravi reveals Sonar AI's newest services, including Footprint, which provides a broader view of a consumer's financial standing by tracking their transactions across crypto exchanges, marketplaces, and fintechs , and the expansion of the Red Flag service for monitoring credentials leaked on the dark web.

This is a must-listen for investigators, executives, and anyone working in the financial crimes space who is serious about strengthening prevention efforts and is ready to embrace the future of shared, collective defense.

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham/