Loading...

What keeps you up at night?

Published: August 30, 2009 by Guest Contributor

— by Heather Grover

I’m often asked in various industry forums to give talks about, or opinions on, the latest fraud trends and fraud best practices. Let’s face it –  fraudsters are students of their craft and continue to study the latest defenses and adapt to controls that may be in place.

You may be surprised, then, to learn that our clients’ top-of-mind issues are not only how to fight the latest fraud trends, but how they can do so while maximizing use of automation, managing operational costs, and preserving customer experience — all while meeting compliance requirements.

Many times, clients view these goals as being unique goals that do not affect one another. Not only can these be accomplished simultaneously, but, in my opinion, they can be considered causal. Let me explain.

By looking at fraud detection as its own goal, automation is not considered as a potential way to improve this metric. By applying analytics, or basic fraud risk scores, clients can easily incorporate many different potential risk factors into a single calculation without combing through various data elements and reports. This calculation or score can predict multiple fraud types and risks with less effort, than could a human manually, and subjectively reviewing specific results. Through an analytic score, good customers can be positively verified in an automated fashion; while only those with the most risky attributes can be routed for manual review. This allows expensive human resources and expertise to be used for only the most risky consumers.

Compliance requirements can also mandate specific procedures, resulting in arduous manual review processes. Many requirements (Patriot Act, Red Flag, eSignature) mandate verification of identity through match results. Automated decisioning based on these results (or analytic score) can automate this process – in turn, reducing operational expense.

While the above may seem to be an oversimplification or simple approach, I encourage you to consider how well you are addressing financial risk management.  How are you managing automation, operational costs, and compliance – while addressing fraud?

Related Posts

Tenant screening fraud is rising, with falsified paystubs and AI-generated documents driving risk. Learn how income and employment verification tools powered by observed data improve fraud detection, reduce costs, and streamline tenant screening.

Published: September 4, 2025 by Ted Wentzel

In today’s digital lending landscape, fraudsters are more sophisticated, coordinated, and relentless than ever. For companies like Terrace Finance — a specialty finance platform connecting over 5,000 merchants, consumers, and lenders — effectively staying ahead of these threats is a major competitive advantage. That is why Terrace Finance partnered with NeuroID, a part of Experian, to bring behavioral analytics into their fraud prevention strategy. It has given Terrace’s team a proactive, real-time defense that is transforming how they detect and respond to attacks — potentially stopping fraud before it ever reaches their lending partners. The challenge: Sophisticated fraud in a high-stakes ecosystem Terrace Finance operates in a complex environment, offering financing across a wide range of industries and credit profiles. With applications flowing in from countless channels, the risk of fraud is ever-present. A single fraudulent transaction can damage lender relationships or even cut off financing access for entire merchant groups. According to CEO Andy Hopkins, protecting its partners is a top priority for Terrace:“We know that each individual fraud attack can be very costly for merchants, and some merchants will get shut off from their lending partners because fraud was let through ... It is necessary in this business to keep fraud at a tolerable level, with the ultimate goal to eliminate it entirely.” Prior to NeuroID, Terrace was confident in its ability to validate submitted data. But with concerns about GenAI-powered fraud growing, including the threat of next-generation fraud bots, Terrace sought out a solution that could provide visibility into how data was being entered and detect risk before applications are submitted. The solution: Behavioral analytics from NeuroID via Experian After integrating NeuroID through Experian’s orchestration platform, Terrace gained access to real-time behavioral signals that detected fraud before data was even submitted. Just hours after Terrace turned NeuroID on, behavioral signals revealed a major attack in progress — NeuroID enabled Terrace to respond faster than ever and reduce risk immediately. “Going live was my most nerve-wracking day. We knew we would see data that we have never seen before and sure enough, we were right in the middle of an attack,” Hopkins said. “We thought the fraud was a little more generic and a little more spread out. What we found was much more coordinated activities, but this also meant we could bring more surgical solutions to the problem instead of broad strokes.” Terrace has seen significant results with NeuroID in place, including: Together, NeuroID and Experian enabled Terrace to build a layered, intelligent fraud defense that adapts in real time. A partnership built on innovation Terrace Finance’s success is a testament to what is  possible when forward-thinking companies partner with innovative technology providers. With Experian’s fraud analytics and NeuroID’s behavioral intelligence, they have built a fraud prevention strategy that is proactive, precise, and scalable. And they are not stopping there. Terrace is now working with Experian to explore additional tools and insights across the ecosystem, continuing to refine their fraud defenses and deliver the best possible experience for genuine users. “We use the analogy of a stream,” Hopkins explained. “Rocks block the flow, and as you remove them, it flows better. But that means smaller rocks are now exposed. We can repeat these improvements until the water flows smoothly.” Learn more about Terrace Finance and NeuroID Want more of the story? Read the full case study to explore how behavioral analytics provided immediate and long-term value to Terrace Finance’s innovative fraud prevention strategy. Read case study

Published: September 3, 2025 by Allison Lemaster

Experian is proud to be a Thought Leadership Sponsor at this year’s Federal Identity Forum & Expo. Meet us on site at FedID!

Published: August 1, 2025 by Kim Le