How to Fight New Payment Fraud Trends & Identify Bad Actors

Payment fraud trends are constantly evolving, and even just one fraud attack can result in financial loss and reputational damage. According to Nilson Report, credit card fraud losses reached $28.58 billion worldwide in 2020 and are anticipated to reach $49.32 billion by 2030. The United States accounts for 36 percent of global credit card fraud, and a recent survey showed that the average American had been affected by at least seven data breaches since 2004.

Fraud risks pose a serious liability to businesses. They consume significant amounts of time and resources, decrease customer trust, and potentially put your business and customers in danger. To fight new payment fraud trends, identify bad actors, and reduce possible loss, companies must implement security measures, products, and services that protect customer information and insulate their payment systems from security breaches. A payments orchestration partner can guide businesses in improving their payment processes by enabling greater payment system security.

What are the best practices to identify new payment fraud trends?
Taking a proactive approach to payment security allows merchants to focus on mitigating potential problems before they cause irreparable damage. OLS helps businesses secure and protect cardholder data and personally identifiable information with access to advanced tokenization and encryption security updates and compliance with the latest PCI and PA-DSS requirements. Through the use of these methods, OLS can help merchants reduce their PCI scope and provide relief from breach notifications.

Payment Fraud has Become One of the Biggest Challenges Facing Businesses

Fraud can happen at any point in the transaction process, with bad actors using a variety of tactics to commit payment fraud. Retailers have been victims of malicious software installed on their POS terminals, allowing bad actors to capture card numbers. Outdated system software, or lack of system maintenance, can open merchants to vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. More recently, merchants have seen a form of fraud that involves a bin attack, where the fraudster takes the first few numbers of a card and then runs software to generate the rest of the numbers until they get approval. From improperly stored card information to chargeback fraud, major vulnerabilities can exist along the transaction pathway, beginning before payment is initiated and through the payment settlement process.

More recently, merchants have seen a form of fraud that involves a bin attack, where the fraudster takes the first few numbers of a card and then runs software to generate the rest of the numbers until they get approval. The fraudsters who commit these unauthorized transactions continue to become savvier in their efforts and utilizing new technologies. Businesses must consistently be vigilant in identifying bad actors, monitoring for fraudulent transactions, and responding to security risks. The key to fighting recent payment fraud trends is the right security tools. Payment data helps businesses see the big picture when it comes to payment activities, from being able to identify transaction issues to detecting fraud.

Access to Near Real Time Payment Data is Critical for Fighting New Payment Fraud Trends

Effectively identifying bad actors and fighting new payment fraud trends requires businesses to access the full breadth of available payment data to monitor and adjust their payment systems. It’s also critical that merchants can see this data in near real-time. While there may be some benefit to seeing payment activity from one week ago, it is too late to act on that data for an attempted fraud attack that is currently occurring. With access to near real-time payment data, businesses have an opportunity to act immediately and take steps to protect their companies and payment systems.

Businesses need a partner who can help them aggregate the key points of each transaction, link related transaction data together, and deliver that data in near real-time. Additionally, that data needs to be given in a way that is most convenient for the business to consume. That might include:

• Accessing the data through an API created by either OLS or the merchant
• Indexing the data and sending it to a data visualization tool such as Splunk
• Using intraday extract-produced files and pushing them out on via SFTP

From there, a business may take the data from these reports and export it into other tools, allowing companies to utilize the data most beneficially. Recognizing the significance of what clear visibility into the payments ecosystem could mean for businesses, OLS knows that payment data reporting should not be a one-size fits all solution. Rather than being the arbiters of what the data should look like, we take the time to talk to a business about the best way for them to consume their payment data.

Payment Orchestration Helps Businesses Manage Fraud Risks While Still Delivering an Excellent Customer Experience

While businesses must manage fraud actively, it’s also essential that those efforts have a minimal impact on the user experience, such as reducing false positives that may cause legitimate transactions to be declined. Businesses struggling with disjointed applications and disparate or siloed systems may find it difficult to aggregate the needed payment data to monitor their payment environment and provide customers with a consistent payment experience. Payment orchestration from OLS Payments simplifies and streamlines payment processing and helps businesses better isolate abnormal transactions with a clearer insight into their payment data.

Security isn’t trivial, nor is the effort it takes to fight new payment fraud trends and identify bad actors. To decrease the risk of loss, merchants must implement payment system security features, products, and services that protect customer information and insulate their payment systems from security risks.

With OLS Payments as their payments orchestration partner, businesses can enhance transaction processing security while providing consumers with a payment experience that is as frictionless as possible.

Key Takeaways

• Even just one fraud attack can result in financial loss and reputational damage.
• Effectively identifying bad actors and fighting new payment fraud trends requires businesses to access the full breadth of available payment data.
• With access to near real-time payment data, businesses have an opportunity to act immediately and take steps to protect their companies and payment systems.
• Payment orchestration from OLS can help businesses enhance transaction processing security while providing consumers with a consistent payment experience.