Remember the Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler”? It exposed the shocking reality of romance scams, where fraudsters exploit emotional connections to steal millions. While the story might seem unbelievable, these scams are worryingly common, costing victims billions globally.
This article explores how financial institutions can leverage intelligent fraud decisioning with AI to combat romance scams and protect their customers.
The High Cost of Love Fraud:
Romance scams don’t just hurt hearts; they leave financial devastation in their wake. In the US alone, victims lost a staggering $1 billion last year. These losses ultimately fall on individuals or the financial institutions supporting them.
Traditional Methods Aren’t Enough:
With scam fraud exceeding traditional CNP fraud globally, relying solely on manual review or basic rules-based systems is no longer sufficient. Financial institutions need advanced tools to detect scams throughout the customer journey.
11 Data Points to Outsmart the Swindlers:
Here are 11 key data points to integrate into your fraud detection strategies, using solutions like Falcon Fraud Manager or the FICO Platform:
Credit Applications:
- Monitor credit card, limit increase, and loan applications in real-time.
- Flag “recently applied for credit” on accounts and utilize application data feeds.
Debit Card Activity:
- Track customer cash withdrawal behavior and identify deviations from their norm.
- Employ FICO models with Global Intelligent Profiles for enhanced ATM transaction fraud detection.
Credit Card Activity:
- Profile customer behavior across all products to detect unusual second card usage.
- Combine age-of-card data with limit increase requests for better fraud detection.
Retail Banking Activity:
- Utilize FICO’s Retail Banking Consumer Model with Scam Detection score.
- Investigate large, irregular deposits, especially after loan applications.
- Watch for high-value payments to new beneficiaries.
- Use User Defined Profiles to analyze data at the device or beneficiary level.
Customer Demographics:
- Analyze your customer base for patterns in location, age, gender, etc., in conjunction with suspicious activity.
Taking Action:
By incorporating these data points and AI-powered solutions, financial institutions can significantly improve their ability to detect and prevent romance scams. Contact our experts today to learn more and protect your customers.
Don’t let love turn into loss. Stay informed and fight fraud!