Blog Articles
Fraud by Prompt: Key Takeaways on Problematic Uses of AI at MRNYC
September 22, 2026
From deepfake product photos to AI-generated NCII, trust and safety teams are facing a threat that shifts faster than most policies can keep up with. At Marketplace Risk’s New York conference, a panel of experts broke down the evasion tactics bad actors are using right now, the gray areas that trip up even experienced teams, and what it actually takes to build a policy that holds up.
What’s Leaking Through Your Controls?
September 15, 2026
Even the best controls aren’t perfect. As evasion tactics evolve faster than controls can adapt, platforms must start asking more questions about the violative behavior they aren’t seeing and how they can better address a confluence of challenges to stay ahead of what’s next. Read more.
How Network Investigators Stop Bad Actors on Platforms — and How You Can Too
September 1, 2026
One bad account is rarely just one bad account. Pull the thread and a single bad actor can unravel an entire criminal network interwoven throughout the internet. Here’s how investigation teams track the signals, differentiate between different kinds of networks, and turn scattered clues into enforcement that sticks.
Prediction Markets: The New Frontier of Financial and Gambling Risk
August 3, 2026
by Gabby Fisher
Prediction markets promise crowdsourced forecasting, but they’re pulling payment processors into a regulatory gray zone. The CFTC treats them as futures contracts. Several states call them gambling. That split leaves acquirers and ISOs exposed to compliance risk they didn’t sign up for. Keep reading to learn more about these merchants.
Documentation Is Your Best Defense: A Smarter Way to Resolve Violative Merchant Activity
July 23, 2026
The better you can document a violation and your response to it, the less exposure your business carries. Keep reading to learn more about best practices for documenting violative merchant activity and how to incorporate it into your work.
Illicit IPTV: What Every Payments Team Needs to Know
April 16, 2026
Streaming piracy isn’t just a headache for Hollywood — it’s a growing liability for payments companies. Learn how illicit IPTV works, why it almost always involves transaction laundering, and what payments teams should look for when assessing merchant risk.
Payment Processing as a Frontline Compliance Signal in Telehealth
March 2, 2026
As telehealth and digital pharmacy models mature, what began as a convenience-driven expansion of care has evolved into a structurally important component of the healthcare ecosystem. With that maturity comes new demands, not just in how care is delivered and marketed, but in how it is paid for. Read more.
What You Need to Know about VIRP Updates to Adult, Escort, and Dating Merchants
February 16, 2026
by Erin Feebeck
Late last year, Visa began enforcing new standards within the Visa Integrity Risk Program (VIRP) that affect adult content, dating services, and escort services. These updates raise expectations for merchant classification, transparency, and compliance. Keep reading to learn about these changes.
Gaining Visibility and Control Across Your Downstream Merchant Portfolio
February 12, 2026
As payment ecosystems grow more complex, sponsor banks are under increasing pressure to maintain effective oversight of their downstream merchant portfolios. At the same time, managing merchant risk at scale has never been more challenging. Keep reading to learn how LegitScript is tackling this challenge.
Watch Out For These High-risk Merchant Behaviors During the Holiday Season
November 4, 2025
With holiday spending set to rise this year, payment processors and online marketplaces vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated scams and other high-risk tactics. Keep reading to learn about illicit and brand-damaging behavior that can spike during the holiday season.
Seeing Stars: How LegitScript and Regulators Fight the Sale of Fake Reviews
October 24, 2025
It’s not just online marketplaces that need to worry about fake reviews. With the FTC now targeting this widespread problem, payment service providers can be targeted by regulators for facilitating their sale. Learn more.
Deepfake; Real Risk: The Crackdown on AI Image Generators
October 14, 2025
by Erin Feebeck
Artificial intelligence has transformed how people create and share digital content. But as AI tools become more advanced, they’ve also created new compliance and reputational risks for payment service providers. Learn how these new tools impact you.
What You Need to Know About Sweepstakes Casinos and Social Gaming: Key Takeaways from Our Webinar
July 21, 2025
Sweepstakes casinos are gaining in popularity — and in regulatory scrutiny. In our recent webinar, we broke down the complexities of these models and the risks they present for payments providers, internet platforms, and consumers alike. Read the key takeaways.
Social Casinos: The Free-to-Play Trap
July 15, 2025
by Erin Feebeck
Many online casinos have adapted their business model to offer free-to-play sweepstakes to avoid gambling regulations, creating a gateway for young audiences to enter the world of betting. Learn more about the risks of these services and the laws governing them.
Inside the Minds of Serial Transaction Launderers: How They Evade Detection and What You Can Do About It
March 27, 2025
Transaction laundering isn’t just an occasional headache—it’s an evolving, persistent threat to payment ecosystems. In our latest webinar, LegitScript dove deep into the world of serial transaction launderers: how they operate, why they reoffend, and what risk teams need to know to catch them.