Fraud & Risk Associate

Pocket Worlds; United States; Remote; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Pocket Worlds is seeking a Fraud & Risk Associate to investigate fraud, abuse, and account security incidents across our games, protecting players and the platform from financial and integrity harm. You’ll review refunds, exploits, compromised accounts, and identity cases using logs, transaction history, and player behavior to reach clear conclusions.

This fully remote role requires strong investigative instincts, comfort making decisions with incomplete evidence, and a genuine interest in

Qualifications

• 2+ years in fraud investigation or related field.
• Ability to gather evidence and test explanations before conclusions.
• Experience with transaction data, logs, and payment histories.
• Fluent written communication in English and Portuguese.
• Comfort working in a fully remote environment.
• Willingness to work assigned shifts (day/night).

Responsibilities

• Investigate refund and chargeback abuse across accounts and payment methods.
• Investigate exploits and economy abuse including bots or manipulation.
• Handle account takeover cases end to end and support recovery.
• Review identity and age verification cases and take action.
• Use logs, device data, and payment records to build a clear picture of events.
• Document decisions for cross-team understanding.
• Escalate cases with high exposure and organized evidence.
• Handle Trust & Safety escalations including ban appeals and policy violations.
• Identify recurring fraud patterns and surface them to the team.
• Coordinate with Payments, Support, and external providers as needed.
• Contribute to improving SOPs, macros, and internal documentation.

Skills

Fraud investigation

Risk analysis

Payment operations

KYC/AML

Account security

Trust and safety

Data analysis

English fluency

Portuguese fluency

Job description

The Role

We’re looking for a Fraud & Risk Associate to investigate fraud, abuse, and account security incidents across our games, and to protect both our players and the platform from financial and integrity harm.

You’ll investigate refund abuse, exploits, compromised accounts, and identity verification cases, working from logs, transaction history, and player behaviour to reach a conclusion and act on it. You’ll also spot emerging patterns and surface them, so we can close gaps before they scale.

We’re looking for someone who enjoys investigation, is comfortable reaching a decision from incomplete evidence, and genuinely enjoys games. Our games, tools, and the methods bad actors use all keep changing, so being comfortable learning new systems and adapting is essential.

What You’ll Do

• Investigate refund and chargeback abuse, identifying patterns across accounts, payment methods, and purchase behaviour.

• Investigate exploits and economy abuse, including unauthorized trading, bots, and manipulation of in-game systems.

• Handle account takeover cases end to end: establish whether a compromise occurred, contain it, secure the account, and support the player’s recovery.

• Review identity and age verification cases, including suspected verification gaming, and take appropriate action.

• Use admin panels, logs, device and session data, and payment records to build a clear picture of what happened before deciding.

• Document every decision so that someone outside the team can understand who was involved, what happened, and how you concluded it.

• Escalate cases that exceed your authority or carry significant financial or reputational exposure, with the evidence organized.

• Handle Trust & Safety escalations, including ban appeals, player safety reports, and policy violations that frontline moderation can’t resolve, and take action or route them to the right team.

• Recognize recurring fraud patterns and surface them to the team, including cases where our automated detection is getting it wrong.

• Coordinate with Payments, Support, and external providers when a case requires it.

• Contribute to improving SOPs, macros, and internal documentation as the operation matures.

What We’re Looking For

• 2+ years in fraud investigation, risk analysis, payment operations, KYC/AML, account security, trust and safety, or a closely related field.

• Strong investigative instinct: the habit of gathering evidence and testing an explanation before reaching a conclusion.

• Comfort working with transaction data, logs, and account histories, and spotting the pattern across several cases rather than treating each in isolation.

• Good judgment in ambiguous situations where the policy doesn’t give you a clear answer.

• Fluency in English and Portuguese, with clear written communication — you’ll be documenting decisions that others rely on.

• Comfort with admin panels, CRMs, ticketing systems, and internal tools, and the ability to learn new ones quickly.

• A genuine interest in games and an understanding that our players are a community, not a caseload.

• Ability to work independently in a fully remote environment.

• Availability to work assigned shifts, including day or night shifts as required.

• Reliable high-speed internet, electricity, and a suitable workstation.

Nice to Have

• Previous experience in a mobile, online, or live-service game, particularly one with a virtual economy or in-game currency.

• Experience with chargeback and dispute processes, or with payment providers.

• Experience investigating account takeover, phishing, or credential theft.

• Familiarity with identity verification providers and age assurance workflows.

• Certifications such as CFE or CAMS.

• Experience with SQL or working with data to investigate at scale.

• Background in trust and safety, content moderation, or player support.