Open to opportunities

Maria-Ioana Ene

@maria-ioanaene

Message

I build fraud controls that protect payments while preserving customer approvals.

Austria

Message

What I'm looking for

I'm looking to continue building data-driven fraud and payments risk controls, partnering with Data Science and engineering teams to reduce losses, improve detection, and balance fraud prevention with customer experience and portfolio growth.

At Payla Services, I design and deploy fraud detection rules for a €100M+ transaction portfolio, using ThreatMetrix, a Scala-based decision engine, SQL, and Databricks. My work helped reduce portfolio losses from 2.5% to 2.1% while maintaining confirmed fraud below 1%.

I turn fraud investigations and transaction data into scalable production controls, executive Tableau dashboards, and practical risk decisions. I partner with Data Science and engineering teams to improve anomaly detection and close emerging fraud vectors.

Previously, I investigated payment fraud, disputes, and chargebacks at Blacklane and Expedia across high-volume global eCommerce operations. At Nintendo of America, I co-led an investigation into a large-scale payment fraud ring involving stolen cards and product resale.

Across Europe and the United States, I’ve supported fraud operations in English and Spanish and developed fraud strategies that balance prevention, customer experience, and portfolio growth.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Senior Fraud Analyst

Current

Payla Services GmbH

Oct 2025 - Present (10 months)

Promoted to Senior Fraud Analyst for sustained fraud-rule performance and measurable risk impact; reduced portfolio losses from 2.5% to 2.1% through credit policy analysis. Designed, tested and deployed fraud detection rules in ThreatMetrix and the internal Scala-based decision engine, maintaining confirmed fraud below 1% and fraud suspicion below 1.5%.

Fraud Strategy SQL Tableau Databricks ThreatMetrix Scala Credit Risk Transaction Monitoring Executive Reporting

Fraud Analyst

Payla Services GmbH

Apr 2023 - Oct 2025 (2 years 6 months)

Designed and developed executive Tableau dashboards monitoring fraud performance, approval rates, false positives and fraud-provider effectiveness across a €100M+ transaction portfolio. Wrote complex SQL queries and used Databricks to investigate fraud trends, evaluate rule performance and support strategic fraud and credit risk decisions.

SQL Tableau Databricks Fraud Analytics Credit Risk Transaction Monitoring

Fraud Investigator

Blacklane GmbH

Jan 2018 - Dec 2020 (2 years 11 months)

Monitored high-volume payment transactions to identify fraudulent activity and emerging fraud trends. Investigated disputed card transactions and managed chargeback cases in accordance with Visa and Mastercard requirements.

Fraud Investigation Transaction Monitoring Chargebacks Disputes Visa Mastercard

eCommerce Fraud Analyst

Expedia Inc.

Jan 2015 - Dec 2017 (2 years 11 months)

Investigated high-risk transactions across multiple global points of sale using payment, identity, behavioural and device intelligence. Analysed transaction data to identify emerging fraud trends and recommended fraud rule improvements.

Fraud Investigation Payment Fraud Risk Operations Data Analysis

Network Support & Fraud Investigation Analyst

Nintendo of America

Jan 2012 - Dec 2015 (3 years 11 months)

Co-led the investigation of a large-scale payment fraud ring involving stolen payment cards and resale of Nintendo products, contributing to improved fraud prevention measures. Investigated eCommerce fraud, authored Spanish-language knowledge base documentation and trained new team members.

Fraud Investigation Training Documentation Spanish