In 2021, JP Morgan and the Association for Financial Professionals reported that 71% of organizations worldwide experienced actual or attempted payments fraud, an alarming statistic.
Chances are, your business will be the target of a payment fraud attempt at some point — and the start of the year is a good time to take stock of your defenses.
Payment transaction fraud threatens businesses of all sizes, and learning how this threat is evolving is the first step toward building a multilayered approach to preventing it. This guide will take you through the latest fraud risks and key best practices for improving transaction security in 2023.
What is transaction security?
Transaction security refers to measures taken to ensure the safe and secure transfer of information or assets during a transaction. Typically, transaction security tools are deployed to protect payment methods, ranging from digital and mobile payments, cryptocurrency, card payments, and wires to more traditional payment methods like checks and loan payments.
Transaction security can include encryption, authentication, and digital signatures to protect against hacking, fraud, and other types of unauthorized access or manipulation. These measures aim to mitigate the risk of transaction fraud, a danger for any business that handles payments (especially e-commerce companies).
Transaction fraud risks in 2023
It is difficult to predict the biggest transaction fraud risks in 2023, as the threat landscape is constantly evolving, and new risks may emerge. However, based on current trends and patterns, most risks are anticipated to fall under five general categories:
- Phishing scams, in which fraudsters attempt to trick individuals into revealing personal or financial information through fake emails or websites
- Card-not-present fraud, which involves the unauthorized use of payment card information for online or over-the-phone transactions
- Account takeover fraud, in which a fraudster gains access to a person’s account and uses it to make fraudulent transactions
- Business email compromise (BEC) scams, in which fraudsters impersonate a company executive or vendor to request fraudulent wire transfers
- Synthetic identity fraud, in which fraudsters use a combination of real and fake information to create a new identity for the purpose of obtaining credit or other services.
These are just some examples of potential risks. Another fraud target becoming increasingly prevalent is buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fraud, which capitalizes on the service’s multiple operating models and distribution types.
Other key transaction fraud types to watch out for include peer-to-peer (P2P) app scams; fraud that uses “alternative” payment methods, such as real-time money transfers or mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay; and increased targeting of ACH (Automated Clearing House) transactions, according to FICO.
No matter how the threat landscape changes, there are transaction security best practices that can help organizations prevent fraud in whatever form it takes.
Transaction security best practices for 2023
With these risks in mind, how can organizations maximize transaction security? These best practices can help your organization prepare for evolving transaction fraud risks this year.
Validate beneficiary payment information
While most organizations are already validating payment beneficiary information through their vendor/bank or an external service, AFP reports that 17% of organizations still aren’t taking this important security step.
Knowing a beneficiary before the transaction clears can help reduce fraud and ensure the intended beneficiaries receive their proceeds.
Protect against push payment fraud
Forrester predicts that many banks and payment service providers will not be fully equipped to deal with “push-based” payment fraud — fraud occurs when customers or clients actively send money to a business. “[Banks and payment service providers] lack advanced authentication approaches such as behavioral biometrics and haven’t educated customers on self-protection,” wrote Forrester’s Senior Analyst, Lily Varon.
Defending against push payment fraud requires technology that can quickly identify abnormal customer behavior, such as making a payment from a new device or to a seemingly random payee. Artificial intelligence can take on the task of monitoring transactions to prevent fraud with greater accuracy, efficiency, and scale. According to data from PYMNTS, “Acquiring banks are especially interested in artificial intelligence (AI), with 60% citing AI as their most important technology for detecting fraudulent transactions.”
Tools like Fraud.net’s Transaction AI offer real-time, continuous fraud and transaction monitoring in AML. With Transaction AI, organizations can stay ahead of fraudsters by tracking and trending suspicious activity with easy-to-use tools.
READ MORE: Transaction AI Fact Sheet
Improve AML transaction monitoring
Artificial intelligence doesn’t just monitor for push payments fraud; it can contribute to the organization’s overall anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring and other types of transaction security.
Transaction AI’s engine harnesses your customer data with billions of insights from unique data sources available only to Fraud.net users so businesses can better detect anomalies and manage fraud. The platform shares real-time risk scores and alerts for every transaction, enabling your team to stop fraud and/or money laundering before it occurs. One organization achieved a 66% decrease in time spent investigating fraud within the first 90 days of implementing Transaction AI.
Educate your customers
Turn your customers into your allies in the fight against transaction fraud. One way to do this is by providing resources and alerts to help users secure their online accounts and stored payment info. “Most mobile and online banking allow customers to set up alerts so they know when purchases, withdrawals, or deposits are made against their accounts,” wrote FICO. “Many banks are sending proactive notifications to customers, encouraging them to set up those alerts today.”
Better transaction security is achievable through encryption, AI-powered monitoring, and customer outreach. Companies that are proactive in implementing these best practices can help continue to decrease the number of organizations targeted by payment fraud schemes. Transaction AI is one of Fraud.net’s six AI-powered risk intelligence solutions designed for each stage of the transaction lifecycle. Use it alone or combine it with others for customized or complete protection. Learn more about Fraud.net’s solutions by signing up for a demo today.