Fraudsters are getting bolder and more sophisticated in their attacks on the financial sector. Their increasingly complex schemes are breaching institutional security and eroding the very foundation of customer trust that banks have worked so hard to build.

The challenge is: There’s no silver bullet solution.

Given the diversity of fraudulent activities, from identity theft to large-scale cyber fraud, no single fraud prevention tool can cover all bases. It’s clear that implementing a multifaceted approach is needed.

In this blog, we’ll look at the issues with fraud prevention technologies and we’ll share best practices used by leading firms, leveraging insight from thought leader Ashley Beldham, who has spent many years consulting with the banks.

Let’s dive in.Why there’s a need for a range of fraud prevention technologies

The amount of fraud committed in the UK more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023, marking the second biggest year for scams in the last two decades. Fraud is becoming more sophisticated too. According to a recent CNBC article, Jess Burn, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research said there is an increase in the use of voicemail and text as part of a two-pronged phishing and BEC campaigns.

“The attackers leave a voicemail or send a text about the email they sent, either lending credibility to the sender or increasing the urgency of the request.” 

Of course, sophisticated fraud is more difficult to detect. Large-scale criminal operations have the resources to conduct advanced tactics such as deepfakes, 2D and 3D masks, and even coercion. 

When financial fraud takes many forms, each presents unique challenges that require targeted solutions. From customers misrepresenting information to gain benefits to external entities perpetrating fraud, the threats facing firms are vast. 

Ultimately, robust fraud prevention demands multiple technologies to address these varied risks effectively.

For example, these rising fraud attacks require very different defences:

#1. Impersonation and account takeovers ��

With the rise of deep fakes, there is more risk of fraudsters assuming someone's identity to conduct unauthorised transactions or gain control over their financial accounts.

Solution: Biometric technology like fingerprint and facial recognition provides a powerful counter by verifying identities reliably.

#2. Safeguarding mobile banking 📲

As mobile banking surges in popularity, so does app-based fraud.

Solution: Advanced algorithms that monitor transactions in real-time and detect anomalies enhance security for this channel.

#3. Preventing authorised push payment fraud 💳
Fraudsters can trick customers into unwittingly authorising payments into the wrong accounts.

Solution: Specialist detection systems stop these fraudulent transactions before completion to protect your customers.

While it’s unavoidable, using multiple solutions causes operational challenges.

Why you need to avoid the 'spaghetti solution' trap

For many financial institutions, the quest to implement comprehensive fraud prevention has led to a tangled web of disjointed solutions—what's known in the industry as a 'spaghetti solution.'

This situation arises from two key issues:

1. Fragmented tools built for specific threats. Most fraud prevention tools are narrowly designed to counter just one type of fraud, leaving gaps in protection against the full range of threats.

2. Redundant functionality. Firms often layer multiple tools that overlap in functionality, creating inefficiency and potential conflicts between systems.

Beyond the obvious challenge of lacking unified, comprehensive fraud protection, this fragmented approach creates major operational hurdles:

Integration headaches: Merging disparate fraud systems into a cohesive whole is a major technical feat, often requiring significant IT resources to ensure seamless data flows and functionality.

Runaway costs: With multiple tools come multiple costs for implementation, maintenance, and updates—expenses that strain budgets and divert funds from other priorities.

As fraud threats evolve, implementing a streamlined fraud prevention platform becomes crucial for ensuring optimised protection and cost-efficiency. If that isn’t frustrating enough, there’s another issue—and that’s data quality. The ramifications of this can cause the highest costs. 👇

Robust fraud prevention demands robust data

The old adage "bad data in, bad data out" could not ring more true. The reliability of any fraud prevention system hinges entirely on the quality and integrity of the data powering it. Incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated input data cripples the system's ability to identify fraudulent activities effectively.

Flawed data makes fraud detection solutions vulnerable to two critical failures:

• False positives: Legitimate transactions are wrongly flagged as fraudulent, disrupting business operations and frustrating customers.

• False negatives: Actual instances of fraud go undetected, leaving your institution exposed to potential losses and reputational damage.

In the worst-case scenario, firms rely on an impaired fraud detection system, leaving them functionally blind to emerging threats lurking in their blind spots.

Ensuring optimal fraud prevention performance requires implementing rigorous data governance processes. This involves continually refreshing and verifying data inputs to adapt to evolving consumer behaviours, emerging fraud tactics, and changing risk profiles over time. As always in credit risk, data integrity is crucial.

So, we’ve covered the challenges. Now, what can financial institutions do?

A blueprint for fraud prevention

With fraudsters continuously evolving their tactics, simply implementing a patchwork of disjointed solutions leaves institutions vulnerable. To effectively safeguard against the range of threats, requires a focused strategy to integrate and streamline technologies.

Here’s how financial institutions can achieve this:

1. Needs analysis

First, gain an in-depth understanding of your specific fraud risk needs through detailed risk assessments. This step helps in identifying the necessary capabilities any fraud prevention solution must have, aligning technology choices with actual needs.

2. Select unified platforms

Simplify your tech stack by opting for integrated fraud prevention platforms that offer multiple functionalities within a single solution—detection, case management, analytics, reporting and more. This reduces operational complexity.

💡With data benchmarking, you can assess the entire data provider market to ensure you have the most comprehensive data, provided in real-time for robust financial crime prevention frameworks.

3. Vendor consolidation

Audit existing fraud vendors to identify potential overlaps, gaps and opportunities for consolidation. Where possible, consolidate vendors to those who offer broader, more integrated solutions, reducing the complexity and inefficiencies of managing multiple relationships and systems.

💡This is something data benchmarking can help with.

4. Choose flexible and scalable solutions

Invest in solutions that are customisable and scalable. This future-proofs your capabilities as threats evolve because these systems can be tailored to accommodate new types of fraud—preventing the need for additional products each time a new threat is identified.

5. Interoperability and API integration

Prioritise platforms that support interoperability and can integrate seamlessly through APIs with other systems. This allows for a more cohesive fraud prevention system where all parts communicate effectively, enhancing overall functionality and data sharing.

6. Regular system reviews and audits

Conduct regular reviews and audits of your fraud prevention systems to ensure they remain effective and relevant. This practice helps redundant tools or capabilities that need upgrading.

7. Focus on data management

Implement strong data management practices to ensure all systems work from a unified, clean data set. High-quality data streams across all fraud detection and prevention systems are essential for optimal performance and accurate insights.

To sum up: By following these strategies, financial institutions can benefit from the latest fraud innovations, while avoiding the pitfalls of fragmented fraud prevention. The end result? Maintaining a streamlined, effective approach that optimises both cost and performance.

Final takeaway

Multiple fraud solutions allow firms to tackle fraud but can be costly. While there is no single solution to tackle fraud, consolidating vendors and investing in customisable and scalable solutions ensures flexibility and reduces system complexity—reducing costs and preventing fraud breaches from slipping through the net. Regular system reviews and strong data management are crucial to maintaining an effective and streamlined fraud prevention framework.

This approach not only enhances efficiency but also ensures all systems are interoperable and up-to-date, maximising protection against fraud threats.