New Account Fraud Prevention | XTN Cognitive Security

NEW ACCOUNT FRAUD PREVENTION

Bring customer acquisition to new heights by eliminating fraud attempts to account opening.

Keep your digital business safe from New Account Fraud with XTN Cognitive Security®:

  • Avoid debts and reduce fraud losses
  • Protect customer acquisition campaigns
  • Comply with regulations

Market Overview

Today, businesses are increasingly transitioning to digital operations, a trend that has been accelerated by the pandemic. This shift has led to the adoption of digital onboarding procedures instead of traditional face-to-face methods. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in a significant increase in New Account Fraud as fraudsters have adapted to the changing landscape. Onboarding security issues are a concern across various industries, including financial services, e-commerce, and public administration. Therefore, it is essential to allow digitized access to services while also being able to identify and prevent fake or fraudulent users.

What is it?

New Account Fraud, also known as Account Opening Fraud or Onboarding fraud is a type of identity theft where fraudsters use stolen or fabricated identities to open accounts in someone else’s name. This can include bank accounts, credit cards, loans, or other financial products. The goal of New Account Fraud is typically to obtain credit or make purchases using the stolen identity, leaving the victim with the bills and potential long-term financial damage. It can also led to money mules activities. However, it’s not only a financial-related threat, fraudsters also target public administrations to hijack tax refunds, pension funds, or e-commerce loyalty programs.

New Account Fraud is the gateway to other attacks, such as:

  • Application Fraud: a fraudster applies for new bank accounts or similar financial services with fake credentials. Then the fraudulent account is used to commit illicit transactions.
  • Money Muling: a fraudster opens a new account to use it as a mule and move illicit funds. Mule accounts are often related to money laundering.
  • Card Testing Fraud: fraudsters create new accounts, usually on an e-commerce platform, to verify if stolen credit cards have expired or been blocked.

How does it work?

New account fraud typically follows the steps below:

  • The fraudster obtains personal information through various means, such as phishing scams, data breaches, or social engineering. They may also create fake identities using a combination of real and fake information.
  • The fraudster opens a new account with a financial institution, such as a bank or credit card company using the stolen or fabricated identity.
  • The fraudster uses the account to obtain credit or make purchases using the stolen identity. They may also attempt to take out loans or other financial products using the account.
  • Eventually, the victim of the identity theft will discover that fraudulent activity has taken place in their name. They may be left with the bills and other long-term financial consequences, such as damage to their credit score.

The challenge

Digital onboarding procedures often prioritize gaining new users over security during solution development, leading to a preference for a smooth user experience. However, balancing this with identity checks is essential to prevent the negative impact of fraud. New Account Fraud presents new challenges and demands innovative detection and protection approaches. A holistic approach that considers user information, biometric behavior, and device fingerprints is necessary for protecting the Account Opening procedure within digital services. Also, financial institutions should converge traditional fraud monitoring with AML instruments to enhance security.

XTN: A Game-Changer in New Account Fraud Protection

The XTN New Account Fraud Protection solution is a comprehensive solution designed to assist businesses across various industries in combating fraud related to new account openings in their digital services. By analyzing user behavior in real-time during the account onboarding process, XTN’s solution can identify and detect fraudulent activities that traditional identity verification methods may overlook. This advanced approach adds an extra layer of security, ensuring businesses can protect their customers and mitigate the risks associated with new account fraud.

The XTN New Account Fraud Protection solution covers the following main areas of analysis:

  • Behavioral Analytics: we analyze the user’s interaction with the login form. For example, we detect excessive savviness, unfamiliarity with the user’s IP address, and heavy use of copy-and-paste.
  • Consistency Checks: we verify the personal data entered to detect any anomalies. For example, the reuse of information already associated with another user (phone, email, address) or a device that has already been used to register other users.
  • Watchlists: we check for the presence of Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) related to previous fraudulent activity or external events (data breaches).
Business Risks

Consequences of New Account Fraud can impact a digital business by:

• Outstanding debts
• Customer acquisition campaigns damaged
• Compliance and reputational issues

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