Sift Science Fraud-Fighting Trends 2016
“All failure is failure to adapt, all success is successful adaptation” – Max McKeown
Fraud-fighting is, by nature, an exercise in smart adaptation. While the basic inevitability of fraud may not change, the specific tactics used by criminals to exploit their victims most certainly do. Fraudsters are resilient. They’re adaptable. They look for any way in. You can never let down your guard. And, as their tactics evolve, the way online businesses approach and combat fraud evolves as well.
Near the end of last year, Sift Science surveyed nearly 200 companies who are battling online fraud – whether it’s related to payments or account abuse – to find out more about what challenges they’re anticipating in 2016, what keeps them up at night, and whether any changes are in store for their fraud-prevention approach.
Check out the infographic below to see what we discovered…
Download the Fraud-Fighting Trends 2016 PDF
Quotes from the front lines
We also gave respondents the option to add some color to their challenges, in their own words. Here’s a sampling of what they had to say, organized into some common themes:
Keeping good customers happy
“How can we be proactive about identifying fraud and minimizing risk, while avoiding offending good customers?”
“Our biggest goals is to deliver a good customer experience, without friction.”
Facing new types of fraud
“We’re struggling with detecting fraudsters or rings that are more sophisticated. (Most are lazy and use consistent patterns, but occasionally when more organized ones get through, they seem to have the biggest “orders” and biggest risk of lost revenue.)”
“As account takeovers become more common, it’s becoming harder to distinguish between legitimate customers and fraudsters.”
Incorporating more automation
“We want to automate more fraud detection – the more manual the process, the more something can slip through our fingers.”
“Automating the system will free up Customer Care Reps time to do more with less. Maybe even eliminate one persons whole position to do something else within the department.”
Authenticating users
“Our biggest challenge is verifying that someone is actually who they say they are, especially international users.”
“We want to implement more validation/verification tools in our onboarding process.”
Fast growth brings challenges
“Just keeping on top of fraud without slowing our growth is our biggest challenge.”
“As we open our platform up to a broader audience, it makes fraud more likely.”
Onward and upward…
Do any of these concerns sound familiar? We’d love to hear from you. One month into 2016, we’re excited to be part of so many business’ plans for achieving their goals – whether it’s less fraud, more sales, more time saved, worry-free growth, or any combination. Here’s to smart, successful adaptation!
