7 Best Fraud Prevention Platforms

Cyber threats are constantly growing and evolving, and your credit card fraud protection strategy should be able to keep up. Fraud protection combines fraud prevention and fraud detection strategies to identify and stop fraudulent transactions that can cause damage to customers and businesses alike.

Whether you’re a small business beginning to scale or a large business managing online payments, you’re at risk of significant losses from cybercrime. According to the 2021 Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report:

• Small businesses (businesses with 10-49 employees) suffered median losses of $12,000, although more severe cases in the 95th percentile suffered losses of $285,000.
• Medium businesses (businesses with 50-249 employees) suffered median losses of $10,000 and 95th percentile losses of $119,000.
• Large businesses (businesses with 250-999 employees) suffered median losses of $17,000, with their 95th percentile losses at $382,000.

Whatever the size of your business, the financial impact of fraud alone is enough of a reason to take proactive action.

Beyond the financial risk, an effective cyber-attack can also adversely affect brand reputation. Hiscox reported that “Nearly a quarter of firms that were attacked (23%) cited bad publicity and its impact on the company’s brand and its reputation. That is a sharp increase on the 14% who said the same last year.” When it comes to potential fraud, whatever the size of your business, you can’t afford to leave the safety of your customers, and your company, to chance.

With the importance of fraud management software in mind, how do you find a company that will mitigate the risks of fraud without disrupting your company’s business? The best fraud detection software will offer the following:

Effective fraud prevention programs will use some form of Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning. Check to see what level of machine learning a fraud prevention system uses. If the system is supervised manually, it likely relies on a historical data set to find abnormal transactions to be reviewed, while an unsupervised system will likely rely on defining normal transactions so that it doesn’t need historical data to operate.

When fraud or potential fraud is found, you want software that will be able to alert you to act when needed. Finding software that allows you to manually check transactions flagged for fraud before approving/ dismissing them may be important to your business. Conversely, you may want software that runs in the background and streamlines the process. Either way, you should ensure that your platform has an alert system that will allow you to easily review alerts in real time.

Deploying a fraud prevention platform can be a time-consuming process, be sure to find a platform that can be easily integrated into your current systems. Payment streams are complex processes with many moving parts, so it’s important to find a platform that won’t overcomplicate or add too much friction to the checkout experience.

Ask how a platform’s system handles false positives since legitimate charges being denied can result in lost revenue. How does the system determine a fraudulent charge? If there’s a charge you deem valid, but it’s been flagged by their system, do they have a way to let the charging process manually? Figure out if reviews are done by machines or in-house reviewers and how customizable their responses can be.

A good fraud prevention platform will be easily customized to your company’s individual needs. Knowing the potential threats your company faces before looking for a fraud prevention program will help you choose the right program for your company.

Most tools offer either fixed or flexible pricing based on your company’s needs. It’s also important to consider that a full-service tool may cost more than one that provides a single service. Look at the potential losses you’re combatting with a full-service system, the potential savings of moving security out of house, and how single service prices may stack up vs. a full-service provider. This will help you estimate the price at which fraud protection software will be worth it for your business.

With a service as important as fraud prevention, it’s essential to find a team that is easy to reach and knows how to work with someone with your level of expertise. If you’re less experienced with fraud prevention, find a platform that is easy to use, and a team that is easy to reach, to fully utilize your software.

Make sure the fraud protection service you choose complies with every relevant security standard your company must uphold. If you work with credit card payments online, make sure you comply with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). If you handle any health information, you will need software that complies with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). If you manage or store customer information in the cloud, you may also need to comply with SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2). Make a list of the standards you must adhere to and check that the software you are considering will help you maintain, or achieve compliance.

With all of these features, and your company’s needs, in mind, here are the best fraud prevention and detection programs to consider as you look for a solution for your company:

Kount, an Equifax company, is known for its advanced AI-driven fraud prevention techniques, which employ two different kinds of machine learning to prevent digital payments fraud, new account fraud, and account takeovers. Their AI is designed to protect customers while maximizing revenue. Kount’s AI works like a seasoned fraud analyst, weighing the risk of an action against the value of the customer before acting. With innovative technology that uses 12 years of data to inform advanced machine learning and AI models, Kount is an excellent fraud prevention platform to consider for your needs. Kount is trusted by large brands such as Chase, Pet Smart, GNC, and Staples. Kount is also IXOPAY’s preferred fraud prevention partner for seamless integration with the IXOPAY payment protection tools.

Riskified specializes in fraud prevention backed by explainable AI, making them an ideal service for newcomers. They provide explanations for every decision made by their machine learning models while letting businesses see decisions in real time. Their Policy Protect service stops promotion abuse, their Account Secure service protects accounts from being taken over, and their Deco service uses data from over a billion transactions to determine if a charge is fraudulent. Riskified also guarantees approval rates and covers any chargebacks. You only pay for approved orders that generate revenue for your business. Riskified is trusted by brands like Wayfair, Ring, Gymshark, Prada, and Ticketmaster.

Sift integrates its machine learning models with data gathered by its global network that processes 70 billion events every month. This allows them to implement full-service fraud prevention that detects evolving threats in real time. Sift easily integrates with existing tech, and their tailored integrations can be customized to your business for a seamless customer experience. They offer a wide range of services, including account defense, payment protection, dispute management, and content integrity tools. Sift is trusted by brands like McDonald’s, Zillow, Indeed, and Twitter.

ClearSale has 20+ years of experience in fraud management services and is designed with the customer experience in mind. Their AI algorithms scan orders to find potential fraudulent charges, which are then sent to their team of fraud analysts. Orders must go through two rounds of expert analysis before being declined, a system they’re so confident in that they offer a chargeback guarantee to their clients. They offer complete fraud solutions for both small businesses and enterprise clients. ClearSale is trusted by brands like Bath & Body Works, ASUS, Under Armour, Motorola, and Wish.

Signifyd provides an end-to-end protection platform built on machine learning and data. They offer a 100% financial guarantee against fraud and chargebacks on approved orders, mitigating the financial risk of fraud for their partners. Their machine learning engine automates fraud prevention, allowing businesses to customize responses based on their context, and is specifically created to handle a high volume of transactions. They offer fraud protection, abuse prevention, account protection, and payment optimization. Signifyd is trusted by brands like Walmart, Samsung, Wish, and eBay.

Fraud.net offers full-service fraud management to address a host of problems, including account takeover, application fraud, call center fraud, chargeback protection, collusion, insider threats, money laundering, customer screening, loan & credit fraud, marketing fraud, and mobile fraud. Their AI-powered systems allow them to detect all these different kinds of fraud while providing up-to-date reporting. Fraud.net is trusted by brands like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Gartner, and Mastercard.

Stripe Radar employs machine learning to block fraud without blocking real customers. Stripe Radar is built into Stripe, although you don’t need to use Stripe to use this platform. Stripe Radar uses data from across Stripe’s payment network to identify both recurring and evolving risks in real-time. They also offer customizable rules for your business to optimize its services for unique challenges. Stripe Radar is trusted by brands like Fitbit, Kickstarter, OpenTable, Deliveroo, and Instacart.

Whichever fraud prevention platform you use, it should minimize lost revenue, give you control over day-to-day actions, and maintain a safe and seamless experience for your customers. Finding a platform that works with your company’s individual needs will protect both your company’s assets and your brand’s reputation. If your fraud protection strategy is lacking, choose a platform that will identify and fix your business’s vulnerabilities before a malicious actor chooses to exploit them.