’Tis the season for fraud. Of course, for any financial institution, fraud is a concern year-round, but it ramps up even more around the holidays. Like a svelte Santa Claus that spent the summer doing Whole30, malicious actors can easily squeeze down the chimney of a financial institution that isn’t prepared. So when it comes to fighting back against credit card and ATM fraud, employing a strategy that focuses on data visibility and greater insight can be everything.
Setting a Baseline
It may seem obvious, but one of the best ways to fight back against fraud is to simply know what “normal” actually looks like. Or, in other words, knowing that if you see Whole30 Santa with a six-pack riding around in a speedo instead of his trademark red suit, that something probably just isn’t right about that. Better visibility into your data can provide a solid baseline to work from. Whether it’s in IT tech systems or business and financial data, arming yourself with the right tools and finding the right partners to show you what normallooks like, so that you can easily flag what’s abnormal, can go a long way to ensuring preparation against bad actors. By using data to set a standard for what normal activity and behavior look like, anything odd pinging outside of those parameters will sound the appropriate alarms.
Use the Right Tools
Being able to tell what’s “normal” for your organization is more about knowing where to look, however, it’s about having the right tools and tactics on hand to utilize those data insights. A great place to start is by deploying the assistance of machine learning against your data. By gaining an ally that is purpose-built to monitor your data to help you make smarter decisions, you’ll be able to reduce fraudulent activity in a big way. On top of this, something like the use of a data lake can ensure that you’ve got absolutely every bit of data you need on hand, should you have to call upon it. Simply put, the best tools and tactics for fighting fraud are the ones that enable you to use the right data against those who want to do you harm and for those whose finances you’re trying to secure.
Defended by Data
There’s no perfect way to fight fraud, especially as it increases over the holidays. There are, however, tried and true ways to fight back. There’s arguably no better place to start than by utilizing every bit of data (and tools that enhance, empower, or engage, that data) that you have at your disposal. Aligning yourself with a partner that can actually connect with you and your individual needs to utilize this data won’t just make your holidays a bit brighter, but it’ll help your customers enjoy theirs a whole lot more, too.
