At PayPal, protecting personal and financial data for over 400 million consumers and 60 million merchants is critical to maintaining trust and security. In this presentation, I will share our proven best practices for safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information [PII] and Payment Card Industry [PCI] data. I will explore the development and implementation of our Identity Data Directory framework, which enables us to monitor, tag, and validate incoming customer data—both for new and existing accounts. By combining identity data vetting, verification of personal attributes, and robust authentication/authorization processes, we ensure that every user’s identity is tied to the real world, enabling secure access and protection against account takeover [ATO] and fraud. Furthermore, I’ll discuss how we verify financial instruments connected to user accounts, ensuring reliability and trustworthiness while preventing fraud. Attendees will gain insights into our methodologies for building resilient, fraud-resistant identity systems and learn practical steps to protect digital identities and sensitive data in today’s increasingly complex threat landscape. This session is ideal for IAM security professionals and product managers seeking to strengthen their own identity solutions.