Plaid Protect is a real-time fraud prevention tool designed to adapt to the specific customer journeys of businesses, offering fraud risk scoring at critical moments such as sign-up, identity verification, and bank account linking. At its core is the Trust Index, an adaptive model that aggregates diverse intelligence, including network interactions, identity insights, bank account signals, and consortium feedback, to provide a comprehensive fraud risk score. This tool enhances existing systems by providing deeper insights, allowing businesses to implement custom workflows and scrutinize users dynamically based on their risk profile. During sign-up, Protect assesses device and network-level risks; during identity verification, it refines user scores to optimize experiences; and at bank account linking, it provides in-depth analysis to prevent sophisticated fraud before transactions occur. Plaid Protect offers flexibility in integrating these processes, ensuring ongoing protection even as fraud tactics evolve.