Dealing with the Challenge of Financial Crime
- October 5, 2023
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Recent technological advances in the financial sector have compelled all businesses to evolve rapidly. The ubiquity of digital mobile apps has certainly catalysed the growth of global digital payments, further accelerated by the behavioural shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the most recent assessment, the global financial market stands at $25,839 billion, and is projected to reach $37,343 billion by 2026.
However, the increase in digital transactions, coupled with inadequate identity verification, has escalated fraud risks. Digital fraud attempts spiked by 150% in 2021, posing substantial threats, including money laundering and identity theft. With 75% of users preferring online financial transactions, vulnerabilities like social engineering and account takeovers have become more pronounced, and the anticipated decline in cash transactions reinforces the momentum of digital transformation. Many countries and many businesses are struggling to counter this fraud threat.
The crypto market, valued at £1.5 trillion in 2021, introduces another dimension to the digital finance realm. Despite a sluggish performance in 2022 and early 2023, the sector is expected to rebound. But as cryptocurrency gains traction, fraud within this space also remains a significant concern.
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Digital fraud has undeniably transformed the global operating landscape. Today, financial entities find themselves at a crossroads, facing substantial threats. These threats are not just financial, leading to potential significant monetary losses, but also reputational, something that could have long-term implications for the brand’s standing and consumer trust. If timely and strategic adaptations aren’t made, institutions may find themselves increasingly vulnerable. In light of this evolving challenge, this article seeks to identify recommendations that can serve as a roadmap for addressing the multifaceted issues stemming from digital fraud.
Some of these suggestions are designed for rapid deployment, offering ‘instant’ mitigation against prevalent threats. In contrast, others necessitate a more prolonged development phase, ensuring sustainability and efficacy. Each recommendation’s relevance will vary based on an institution’s unique business model and customer base. However, when these measures are synergistically combined, they pave the way for more robust fraud prevention strategies. The primary goal of these proposed changes is not just to reduce potential financial losses but, crucially, to bolster consumer confidence and enhance trust in the brand, ensuring longevity and business growth going forward.

- Broaden the scope of fraud investigations to encompass robust anti-money-laundering measures, pinpointing both money mules and consumers who may inadvertently be entangled in money-laundering operations. Utilise anomaly detection techniques that amalgamate real-time data with historical records across the organisation to detect illicit activities. Efforts to combat money-laundering should not just focus on the actions of the customer but also extend to recognising recipients involved in these nefarious money-laundering plots.
- Implement a cloud-based infrastructure for fraud management systems, which will facilitate extensive data ingestion capacities, thereby paving the way to transition from data lakes to the more dynamic concept of data rivers. The capability to ingest vast volumes of data elements for immediate use necessitates the simultaneous analysis of numerous data streams to facilitate on-the-spot decision-making. Furthermore, drawing data into a centralised repository remains invaluable and can be further optimised to enhance both reporting and in-depth analytical processes.
- Employ link analysis to discern recurring characteristics across various fraud instances and ascertain instances where organised syndicates might be targeting the payment system. By uncovering these shared patterns, it is possible to gain the capability to determine not only if there has been a data breach event, but also to decide if there is a need to reissue payment methods. Harnessing these identified commonalities makes it possible to craft and roll out innovative fraud countermeasures specifically designed to address the identified fraud event, thus significantly mitigating potential adverse effects on consumers.
- Transition all fraud surveillance endeavours to real-time evaluations, entirely eliminating the use of batch processing when analysing transactions. Relying on batch processing, especially for non-monetary transactions or those deemed as low risk, diminishes the probability of proactively preventing high-risk activities prior to any financial losses being incurred. Both decisions made at the point of authorisation and those made post-authorisation should be feeding into and refining the analytical tools promptly and in real-time.
- Incorporate cybersecurity measures, identity management strategies, and access controls alongside fraud prevention and detection instruments to furnish a comprehensive, multi-layered methodology for promptly pinpointing fraudulent activities. Given that numerous payment pathways utilise a singular funding source, it becomes imperative to continuously monitor and safeguard each and every access juncture. The assortment of analytical tools should be seamlessly integrated into a centralised fraud management infrastructure, ensuring unambiguous data transparency throughout the entire organisation.

- Utilise multi-layered analytical strategies to pre-emptively prevent losses before they manifest. An intricate layered-model methodology, which encompasses not only the consumer but also the receiver, merchant, device and other pivotal indicators across the diverse facets of the transactions, is crucial. Relying exclusively on consumer behaviour falls short in grasping the intricate nature of digital fraud. In such scenarios, criminals can broaden their scope, thereby minimising the impact on individual accounts. Every model employed should facilitate adaptive learning capabilities to rapidly discern emerging fraudulent trends.
- Establish guidelines to meticulously examine receiver data for person-to-person (P2P) transactions, pinpointing instances where a consumer might be inadvertently succumbing to deceitful schemes. It is not uncommon for consumers to be duped into divulging sensitive details or offering up screenshots of their payment particulars to finalise a purchase. By inhibiting screen image captures within payment applications, verifying the GPS location through QR code scans, and rigorously authenticating the recipient of the funds, one can construct detailed profiles of potential illicit activities, thus curtailing the likelihood of processing suspicious transactions.
- Centralise the decision-making process by utilising a unified rules engine for all payment methodologies, thus ensuring a holistic, customer-centric perspective of each transaction. While transaction authorisation is typically necessitated across various systems, it’s imperative that all these transactions be routed through a singular rules engine for efficient case management, automated card restrictions and timely communication with the consumer. A comprehensive record of all consumer interactions should be readily accessible, facilitating decisions that pinpoint fraud more swiftly and significantly minimise the adverse ramifications associated with false positives.
- Minimise dependence on personnel for overseeing fraud activity by integrating automated procedures and predictive case management systems. Prioritising the identification of the most high-risk activities will enhance the accuracy of the false positive rate, subsequently diminishing the operational supervision necessary to swiftly adjust to emerging fraudulent schemes. Implementing an API-driven infrastructure, which seamlessly interfaces with a plethora of systems to initiate various actions (such as communication, card status modifications, detailed reporting, and the like), will substantially boost the operational efficiency of the fraud management organisation.
In the face of evolving digital fraud trends, financial entities must embrace comprehensive strategies to mitigate both financial and reputational threats. Combining rapid and sustainable measures tailored to unique business models enhances fraud prevention, bolsters consumer confidence, and ensures brand longevity in our increasingly digitalised world. Taking a range of the measures suggested here will undoubtedly enhance security and improve customer confidence, to the gain of the financial organisation and their clients.