Review On-Hold Transactions with Defend Risk Routing

Audience: Organizations

The short answer: Proof Defend can flag and hold transactions based on risk signals and your settings. Here's how to manage those transactions when they are placed on hold.

This content is for users with owner, admin, or fraud role permissions in organizations with both Defend and the Risk Routing feature enabled. If you're interested in Defend, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or contact our sales team.


Risk tolerance settings

When this feature is enabled, you choose which transactions you'd like to hold automatically:

  • High risk only
  • Both medium and high risk
⚠️
You also choose how long the transaction is held (in minutes) before it's released. If you do not review it within the set time, it will be automatically approved. If no time limit is specified, the transaction will be held indefinitely.

To change these settings, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM).


How it works

When a transaction meets the threshold defined by your risk tolerance settings, Defend automatically labels it as on hold so you and your team can review it before releasing the documents to the signer(s).

Users with an owner, admin, or fraud role receive an email indicating suspicious behavior was detected, including the risk level, date, and time of the transaction.

Options for on-hold transactions

When you review the on-hold transaction, you have two actions available:

Action Result
Approve
  • The documents are released to the recipient.
  • The recipient receives an email with a link to the document(s).
Decline
  • The documents are not released to the recipient.
  • The recipient is not notified.
  • The transaction is marked as declined.

Recipient's experience

The recipient is not notified that the transaction is on hold. Their account shows the transaction as "in progress" and they cannot access the transaction details or related documents until your team moves the transaction forward.

Recipient account showing transaction as in progress

Manage an on-hold transaction

  1. Select Send & manage from the navigation on the left.
  2. Select Risk alerts from the Transactions page menu on the left.

    Risk alerts option in Transactions menu
  3. Find and select the transaction you'd like to review to open it.
  4. Select the Identity tab to review the alerts for the transaction.
  5. Select View signals in the red banner to view details.

    Identity tab showing Defend risk routing alerts with View signals button
  6. Select Transaction actions in the upper right corner.

    Transaction actions menu showing approve and decline options
  7. Select the desired action from the dropdown menu:
    • Approve transaction
    • Decline transaction
  8. Type a reason in the pop-up window that appears.
  9. (Optional) Check the box to temporarily mark the recipients as safe.

    Mark as safe option in Defend Risk Routing approval modal
  10. Select Confirm to save the selected action.

Summary Checklist

  • If not reviewed in time, on-hold transactions are automatically approved — or held indefinitely if no time limit is set.
  • Recipients see the transaction as "in progress" and cannot access documents until your team acts.
  • Navigate to Send & Manage → Risk alerts → open the transaction → Identity tab → Transaction actions.
  • Declining a transaction does not notify the recipient.
i
Still unsure? Contact Proof Support for help.

Updated

Was this article helpful?

0 out of 1 found this helpful