Fraud & Scam Detection API

Detect fake merchants in real time before they cost you

Instant, AI-powered merchant risk intelligence for acquirers, PSPs, and payment facilitators so by the time a merchant finishes applying, you already know if they're worth onboarding.

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Reject scam and fraud merchants while they onboard

By the time a merchant finishes applying, your system already has a complete risk picture. No waiting, chasing, or post-approval surprises.

Risk Score

Instant severity assessment on any merchant

Instantly analyze any merchant and receive a severity rating aggregated from multiple independent checks running in parallel. One consistent output your team can route on, automate against, and audit with confidence.
Summary

Every assessment comes with a full written explanation of the risk findings

An AI-generated narrative that synthesizes every finding into a single, defensible paragraph. Your analyst gets the full picture without having to interpret a single data field.
Reason Codes

Structured risk tags your team can build workflows on

Each risk indicator is categorized by tag type, covering domain risk, content violations, reputation, compliance flags, and more. Plugs directly into your decisioning logic, onboarding workflows, or CRM without any transformation layer.
Evidence

Every flag comes with proof your auditors can verify

Source-linked findings for each risk signal. URLs, data points, and citations that turn every decision into a documented, defensible record. No assumptions.

From request to result in under 60 seconds.

Risk signals that fit into how your team already works

Risk intelligence with
measurable impact on your bottom line

70%

Reduction in manual review volume

Automated risk scoring at onboarding eliminates the bulk of low-value manual checks your team handles today.

3x

Faster merchant onboarding decisions

Risk signals return in under 60 seconds, so your team decides in minutes instead of days.

45%

Fewer fraud-related chargeback disputes

Catching high-risk merchants before they transact significantly reduces downstream chargeback exposure.

No risk dimension gets skipped

Every assessment runs all checks simultaneously across six risk categories, so a merchant can't pass by being clean on one dimension while hiding risk in another.

Business Identity

  • Physical address verification
  • Phone number validation
  • Generic branding detection
  • Email risk and domain mismatch

Website Content

  • Policy page analysis
  • Pricing anomaly detection
  • Unrealistic claims scoring
  • Fake testimonial patterns

Business Model

  • Recurring billing trap detection
  • Chargeback discouragement language
  • Fake authority badges

Domain & Registration

  • Domain age and WHOIS analysis
  • URL name risk classification
  • Registration anomaly flags

Reputation

  • Online review and complaint patterns
  • Reputation risk scoring

Compliance

  • High-risk jurisdiction detection
  • Regulated vertical classification
  • Gambling, crypto, adult, pharma flags

Why Ballerine

Built for 2026 payment risk exposures

Works without a URL
Only about 25% of merchant inquiries include a website. Our system assesses risk from company name and address alone, so you're never blocked at the starting line.
Transparent,
not a black box
Every score comes with evidence and reasoning. Your team sees exactly what the AI sees, making every approve, review, or reject decision defensible by design.
Sub-60-second SLA
All checks run in parallel, not in sequence. Full structured analysis delivered via sync or async API, fast enough to fit inside your live onboarding window.

Frequently asked questions

How does Ballerine's Fraud & Scam Detection API work?
Can the API assess merchant risk without a website URL?
What risk signals does the API return?
How fast are API responses and how does it integrate with existing onboarding flows?
Who is the Fraud & Scam Detection API built for?

Ready to increase approval rates without adding risk?

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