In a digital-first financial world, fraudsters are evolving faster than ever. Yet for Baptiste Védère, Chief Risk Officer at Santander Consumer Bank in Belgium, staying ahead of them starts with a strong foundation: cybersecurity, risk culture, and industry collaboration. Baptiste shared an insightful view into the practical and philosophical aspects of fraud prevention from the lens of a seasoned risk professional.

Cybersecurity as the First Line of Defence

For an online bank like Santander Consumer Bank in Belgium, where the core business is deposit-based digital banking, the biggest fraud challenge is clear: cybersecurity.

“Cybersecurity is our first and main line of defence,” Baptiste explains. The potential impact of a breach, ranging from theft of customer funds and personal data to exposure of strategic information, makes this a critical concern. “For the customer, it’s the theft of money and data. For the bank, it’s our reputation at stake.”

Among the many threats, phishing stands out as a particularly insidious and common attack vector. Baptiste describes phishing as a “real curse,” one that not only targets customers but risks undermining brand trust. Fraudsters increasingly use sophisticated tactics, sometimes impersonating banks with near-perfect replicas of official emails and websites.

“If you want to fight fraudsters, don’t think they’re stupid. They are very, very clever,” he says, recalling how even he nearly fell for a phishing attempt as the message was so convincingly crafted that only a slight typographical anomaly in a URL revealed its malicious intent.

Educating Customers—A Shared Responsibility

Given the sophisticated nature of these scams, Baptiste believes banks have a responsibility to support customers in protecting themselves. While he stops short of labelling it a formal duty, he recognises that in a fast-moving information age, consumers often make hasty decisions and place implicit trust in familiar brands.

“Youngsters may be more digitally aware, but older generations, like my parents, are more vulnerable. They trust us because we’re Santander - a big name,” he explains. “That trust can make them easy targets.”

To mitigate this, Baptiste advocates for ongoing customer education and accompaniment. “We need to help them. Even if the fraud seems obvious to us, that doesn’t mean it is to everyone.”

The Importance of Risk Culture

Beyond technology, Baptiste is a strong proponent of building a robust internal risk culture. He describes how expert judgement and intuition, especially among frontline staff, are vital in spotting unusual patterns and detecting fraud that technology might miss.

Drawing on his past experience in automotive finance, he shares how his team regularly reviewed “fishy” credit applications through collaborative sessions with underwriters. These exercises not only enhanced detection but cultivated a deeper, shared sense of accountability across the team.

“This kind of culture is essential,” he says. “It helps people see what doesn’t feel right. And sometimes, it’s the basics that are most important.”

Fighting Fraud from All Angles

At Santander Consumer Bank, fraud prevention is not limited to customer-facing threats. The bank’s compliance department is responsible for anti-money laundering (AML) activities, with a team of six people managing billions of euros volume across multiple countries. Customers are continuously screened, assigned risk levels, and monitored—ensuring that high-risk cases receive additional scrutiny.

Baptiste acknowledges that threats like money muling and synthetic identities do exist, but insists that rigorous processes and governance help maintain oversight. “All our controls are documented, regularly tested, and audited. We take governance seriously - and it must also be clear and transparent.”

AI: A Double-Edged Sword

When it comes to technology, Baptiste sees both promise and limitations in artificial intelligence (AI). While AI is being explored within the broader Santander group, especially in Western Europe, he notes that banks face significant hurdles in deploying AI due to regulatory constraints, particularly around explainability.

“Fraudsters don’t need to explain AI. We do. That’s a huge difference,” he says. Referencing a high-profile case in Hong Kong involving deepfake videos and a €26 million scam, Baptiste highlighted how bad actors are already leveraging advanced tools with no oversight constraints.

Despite the challenges, he sees a path forward: using AI for tasks like AML and fraud pattern detection, where responsible, explainable systems can enhance efficiency and catch anomalies. “AI is good at spotting past patterns, but not new ones. That’s why human thinking still matters. You can’t outsource intuition.”

Third-Party Risk and the Weakest Link

An emerging area of concern for Baptiste is third-party vendor risk. In today’s interconnected banking ecosystem, many core services rely on external providers. And when those vendors are compromised, the bank becomes vulnerable too.

“Our biggest vendors are also our weakest link,” he warns. “We’re only as strong as they are.” With regulations like DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) on the horizon, Baptiste welcomes stricter oversight and enhanced requirements for supplier cybersecurity.

Industry Collaboration: More Is Needed

Baptiste is a vocal advocate for greater collaboration across the financial services industry. While operational risk sharing platforms like the ORX (Operational Riskdata eXchange) database exist, he believes they could be more open and accessible.

“We should be competitors in business, not in fighting fraud,” he asserts. He envisions regulator-led summits, where banks share experiences, challenges and data in a structured, secure setting. Such events already occur for regulatory compliance, he notes, why not for fraud prevention?

“The industry is full of quantitative minds,” he reflects. “But qualitative, experience-based thinking is just as important. We need to share, learn, and collaborate more if we’re going to outpace the fraudsters.”

A Continuous Battle

Fighting fraud is not a one-time initiative—it’s a daily discipline. Baptiste stresses the need for ongoing awareness, regular reviews, and a proactive mindset.

“We must read the news, stay informed, and continually refine our defences. Fraudsters are always adapting, so we must too,” he concludes. “And while AI, governance, and tools all play a role, nothing replaces a strong culture, smart people, and staying one step ahead.”

These are indeed wise words from the frontline of fraud-fighting to end the interview on!

Join us at our flagship conference in Brussels on May 22 where our dedicated Fraud stage will feature insights from industry leaders on the latest trends in anti-money laundering, a keynote on The Global State of Scams", fraud prevention, PSR & IPR, digital identity, adaptive risk management, the latest technologies to help you balance risk, fraud and cost management effectively and a whole lot more!