It started like any other Tuesday morning at APL Federal Credit Union.
Kevin Thorpe, a payment support specialist, was reviewing wire transfer requests that had come through overnight. Most were routine – mortgage payments, vendor payments – the predictable rhythm of financial lives flowing through APL’s digital channels.
Then a wire request appeared in APL FCU’s online system: $80,000 for a home purchase. The member had submitted the required documentation, and the ID seemed legitimate.
But one critical detail immediately caught his attention:
The funds were going to an individual, not a title company.
“Sometimes wires are sent to a close relative who then sends the funds to the title company,” Kevin explains, acknowledging that unconventional arrangements do happen.
“But for a home purchase of this size, you’d expect the wire to go directly to a title company, not to an individual’s account”.
He then pulled up the member’s profile, compared the submitted ID to what they had on file, and reached for the phone to initiate the standard callback verification.
And that’s when his instincts started screaming.
“The voice on the other end wasn’t right. The accent didn’t match the member’s profile. The physical characteristics I could verify over the phone didn’t align with the ID in the system.”
The caller’s demeanour shifted instantly, and he started showing resistance by creating artificial urgency, a classic fraud tactic: “I had sent the wire last night. Why isn’t it processed yet? This is my account. I can give you information over the phone.”
When Kevin insisted on a video call, the caller claimed that he was driving and tried desperately to bypass the video verification and resubmit an ID.
“But the caveat was that the phone number we had on file was listed as a home number. We did have another number that was a mobile, and sometimes that can be answered incorrectly. I held the line and said that this is the policy, and we cannot proceed otherwise.”
The caller then said that he would call back once he pulled over to a safe location.
“Instantly, I didn’t feel comfortable about it.” The incident was immediately escalated to the operations manager, and Kevin sent out an email documenting every red flag he had encountered.
The Wire Was Frozen. The Fraud Attempt Had Hit A Wall!
Kevin wasn’t acting on instinct alone. They were backed by a robust system designed precisely for moments like this.
APL FCU had implemented risk-based video verification with Eltropy Video Banking.
“One of the rules we implemented when we took on the video portion of Eltropy was: Any wires over a certain monetary amount to a third-party beneficiary will always require video verification.”
-Denise Webster, Accounting Manager at APL FCU
This approach doesn’t force staff to justify every video verification request; the policy does that for them. So, when Kevin’s instincts told him something was wrong, he didn’t have to argue or escalate; he simply followed the established protocol that empowered him to demand video verification.
Instinct identified the threat. Policy backed him up. Technology closed the door.
The fraudsters’ calculation was simple: If they can’t appear on video without exposing themselves as impostors, they immediately move on to easier targets.
The Real Story Unfolded
Three days later, APL FCU’s customer service received a call from the actual member – this time successfully verified through standard security questions.
“When I got on the call, the member informed us that over $1.2 million had already been wired out of his other account. He was ecstatic that APL FCU stopped the fraud. He questioned why the other institution allowed the larger wire to go through, but was very satisfied with the safety measures we had in place,” Kevin remembers.
He spoke with the member on two or three occasions after that. “The member explained that he is older and in poor health, so he rarely answers his home phone, and his cell phone sends unrecognized numbers straight to voicemail. He was extremely happy with how the situation was handled.”
That kind of member loyalty cannot be bought. But APL FCU earned it by actually protecting its people when it matters most.
APL Federal Credit Union’s Main Office in Laurel, MD here
Eltropy Video Banking: When Instinct Needs Technology to Act
Kevin’s twenty years in financial services had honed his instincts to detect when something just didn’t add up. But instincts alone can only take you so far in today’s increasingly sophisticated fraud landscape.
Without Eltropy Video Banking to back up those instincts with concrete, verifiable proof, APL FCU would have been stuck with an impossible choice: Process the wire with incomplete information and risk a massive loss, or deny a transaction that might have been legitimate, frustrating a valued member.
Video Banking removed that uncertainty, giving teams the power to act decisively on their instincts and stop a potential catastrophe. The Eltropy Platform allows your team members, like Kevin, to interact with members live through video, have them hold up or submit their ID, and instantly compare it against what’s archived in the system.
Sean Manion, Vice President of Lending at APL FCU, frames the business case with characteristic directness: “One of the things that stands out is the facial recognition. It might kick out a score to authenticate who it is that you’re talking to, just to give them a little bit more protection and confidence that that is who they’re talking to. And maybe it speeds things up a little bit. And to be honest, it’s not that much money, and all we need is one big loss to offset such a cost-effective tool.”
“Sometimes members are a little frustrated, but when we explain the process, how people used to intercept phone numbers during callback verification, they understand. By implementing video, we’re able to see them. We’re able to verify their ID, have them hold up their ID, and match what we have on file,” says Jessica Stringham, Branch Manager who handles video verifications across multiple transaction types at APL FCU.
The video verification process with Eltropy takes just two to three minutes, but those minutes create an insurmountable barrier for fraudsters.
The impact extends beyond fraud prevention. For APL FCU’s members who’ve moved across the country but stayed loyal to their credit union, video verification has become a bridge to accessible service without requiring a branch visit.
“A lot of times when you start off with a member, they do get frustrated,” Kevin says. “But when they realize what’s going on and how it’s protecting them, it’s like, oh, this is amazing.”
“You will get a couple of individuals that don’t understand why we are making things complicated, until you are contacting them to let them know that you’ve saved them from losing a $140,000 wire, or anything of that situation,” Denise adds.
Protecting the Unrecoverable: Zelle Transactions
If wire transfers carry significant fraud risk, Zelle transactions represent an entirely different level of urgency. Once Zelle money is gone, it’s gone forever – as irreversible as handing someone cash.
“By implementing Eltropy, we were able to streamline things a little faster and catch some issues more efficiently,” Jessica explains. “We were able to upload documents more quickly, which helps avoid going through a lot of hoops for loans and account openings. We’ve caught lots of fraud from different ways documents were being submitted.”
“It gives us a sense of relief knowing that when we call the member and do a video, we can see who it is. Basically, we do it because we’re making the decision whether to approve a Zelle transaction if it goes on hold. Just to give you some insight, we only do callback verifications on Zelle transactions that get flagged and go on hold. The Zelle platform doesn’t always tell you why a transaction is on hold.”
“At the end of the day, we’re protecting our members and the credit union from loss, because once the money is gone from Zelle, it’s gone. You can’t get it back. It’s like cash.”
APL FCU Leaders Advise the Industry: Why Eltropy Changes the Game
The impact of APL FCU’s success with Eltropy has rippled far beyond their own institution.
At industry conferences, in peer conversations, and in moments of crisis averted, their experience with Eltropy Video Banking has become a reference point for what’s possible when credit unions embrace technology that actually delivers on its promise.
“I went into it thinking that this is going to help lending, and it’s just morphed into something so much better.”
-Sean Manion,
Vice President of Lending at APL FCU
Sean Manion, Vice President of Lending, doesn’t mince words: “I have said to a few credit unions, the longer you wait, the longer it’s going to take to reap results.” APL FCU discovered that Eltropy Video Banking wasn’t just a fraud prevention tool, but a catalyst for transformation across every department.
But what stands out most isn’t just what Eltropy’s platform can do; it’s the people behind it. “The people at Eltropy that I’ve dealt with, from sales to integration to support, have been top-notch. If we’ve ever had an issue, it’s been rectified very quickly. I look at a lot of them as friends versus partners, and if we need something, somebody’s jumping on it no matter how busy they are, and Eltropy is a great partner.”
Denise Webster, Accounting Manager, has also become an unofficial Eltropy advocate at industry events. “Last month I attended a conference, and I just heard the word ‘Eltropy’ and kind of popped into their conversation, asking if they used Eltropy? I gave them first-hand information about scenarios where we’ve caught potential losses with regard to wires, how we added that additional layer of security to verify our members with the PIN, the OTPs that we can send to the members, and things of that nature.”
The conversation resonated because every institution is wrestling with the same evolving threats.
That moment of realisation, when frustration turns to gratitude, is something Branch Manager Jessica Stringham sees regularly, and it’s made her a believer in what Eltropy brings to the table. “If leaders want to change things in their credit union or banking world, they need to go with Eltropy. It brings lots of resources to the frontline staff as well as the backend staff, and it’s helping their consumers feel safer and saving the institution from loss.”
The Verdict from the Front Lines
The message from APL FCU’s entire team is unanimous and unshakeable:
Eltropy didn’t just give them a way to catch fraud. We gave them a comprehensive platform that protects members, empowers staff, and builds the kind of trust that turns satisfied customers into loyal advocates.
The proof isn’t in the promises. It’s in the $80,000 saved.
It’s in the $1.2 million that didn’t disappear from their members’ accounts.
It’s in the Google rating that jumped two full points.
It’s in the member who called back, “ecstatic” instead of devastated.
For credit unions and community banks evaluating their fraud prevention strategy, the question isn’t whether Eltropy’s approach works. APL FCU already proved that it does.
The question is: how many more fraudsters will test your defenses before you give your team the Eltropy advantage?
