Fraudsters are getting increasingly sophisticated, and organisations face the daunting challenge of defending themselves against evolving tactics that have the potential to wreak financial havoc if left unchecked. Despite fraud accounting for 41% of crimes against individuals, it receives only 1% of police attention, indicating a dire need for more focused efforts.
The advent of high levels of automation, especially in the form of bot attacks, has exponentially increased the scale at which these threats can penetrate systems. As a result, without adequate protection, businesses become vulnerable to substantial losses.
However, the battle against fraud isn't one-sided. The industry is actively responding, leveraging innovative technologies to counter these ever-evolving threats.
BEHAVIOURAL ANALYTICS
One of the emerging frontiers in this fight is the realm of behavioural analytics. This is particularly important in preventing these bot attacks, as by assessing the way in which an application or form is completed online gives you a great deal of insight as to whether or not this is an automated piece of activity or a genuine customer. The use of behavioural science in fraud detection and prevention is going to continue to grow, and is certainly needed to help combat these attacks.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING
The industry has also made great strides from a data and modelling perspective, particularly through the application for AI and ML. These models have been highly effective at reducing fraud losses. However, it is crucial that these are agile and respond to changes in the threats received by an organisation. To ensure robust defences, the models must also be refreshed more often, and ingest data from multiple sources. By doing this, organisations give themselves the best possible defence against fraud and crucially, the best level of protection for their customers.
DATA SHARING
The government is stepping its focus on fraud prevention because the UK economy loses in excess of 1 billion per annum associated with fraud.
In a recent inquiry, the House of Lords and the Digital Fraud Committee proposed 65 recommendations for fraud prevention, including data sharing.
Fraudsters share data in various guises in order to defraud the population, therefore it is incumbent upon organisations to make sure that they're sharing data to prevent such crimes. This includes data sharing between organisations and the police. Jaywing has a track record in data sharing, with 15 years ago having one of the biggest pools of fraud data in the UK. With the advent of new technology and no decline in fraud in sight, we aim to start helping organisations from across industries with data sharing to prevent fraud.
EDUCATION
While technological advancements have fortified defences against fraud, a key challenge continues—the vulnerability posed by individual customer actions, including in APP fraud and account takeovers. Instances where unwitting customers fall victim to scams or unknowingly disclose sensitive information remain beyond the control of lenders. Efforts to highlight potential dangers, improve warning messages, and enhance general education remain essential in preventing these unwanted disclosures.
By combining technology, expert fraud consulting, and educational initiatives for customers, organisations will be able to create a seamless customer journey where fraud risk is low, and will be able to focus protective friction only in the areas where it is required.