Machine Learning and AI: Weapons to Fight Cyber Fraud

Organised cybercrime is rampant in both public and private sectors. Governments, banks, and businesses of all sizes – it does not matter – a fraudster does not distinguish when choosing a would-be target.

Cybercrime syndicates are continually recruiting new members and utilising gangs of criminals which poses a steadily growing challenge for businesses to stop them. Overwhelmed by impossible volumes of data, firms often leave glaring voids in their IT systems through which criminals are eager to gain control. It is long overdue for organisations to take the comprehensive steps needed to prevent threats by using technology that outperforms that of the criminals, keeps client data safeguarded, and looks after businesses and establishments across the board.

Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning can supply the edge required.

It’s no secret that cyber criminals search for organisational vulnerabilities. These days they have even more options and ever more weaknesses to exploit - almost all businesses store data online in some measure.

If not managed effectively, this data is as much of a golden opportunity for cyber criminals as it is a liability for businesses, and unfortunately, still too many firms are not handing their data in a suitable way.

Data has transformed into a criminal’s ally – one that will easily be able to assist in creating phishing and social scams. Criminals approach financial institutions with false information for myriad loans, hack into their databases, activate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, to name but a few. The crime is committed, the criminal gets away with it and firms are left to do the clean-up. This is all instigated by just a few gaps in the way an institution gathers and keeps customer information.

AI can assist in stopping fraud

Many organisations strive to prevent fraud, as data is only as good as the way in which it is applied. Even though they have the data they need, they often don’t have the means to easily access it, and often don’t know what to do with it, if they do have access.

Banks and businesses are able to improve the security of their operations and their customers’ data with the help of artificial intelligence. Rather than feeling swamped by never ending lines of disorganised data, companies need to welcome and leverage that data through the use of AI and machine learning. It can improve the ability to detect and identify suspects before, rather than after, any crime is committed.

A number of organisations are confronted with the issue of how to navigate their loads of data. The data sits in silos, which makes it difficult to sort through and make much sense of. With this in mind, organisations cannot usually achieve any actionable benefit from their data. But, without having to first find the answers to all your data challenges, AI can provide a way forward.

Powerful tools

Through powerful tools designed to catch discrepancies and suspicious patterns, advanced technology takes the control out of the hands of cyber criminals - tools such as advanced analytics. As an example, the correct algorithm can scrutinise data, which develops ways to reveal patterns that may lead to fraud. These patterns might include similar names, address data, IP addresses and locations, for example. Not only do these tools help companies to identify potential fraud, but they can also predict fraud amongst certain networks - essential in a world where data keeps piling up.

Collect sort and analyse data easily

As AI and machine learning systems take charge of the task of collecting, sorting and analysing data as it comes in, employees can spend their time and skill sets on tasks other than searching through endless data, and, at the same time, safeguarding the data from human error. And when AI-driven technology creates an alert for a possible fraud, these employees can apply their human intelligence and their judgment to establish whether or not to set an investigation in motion.

This helps to put more attention on actual risk and less on the hype that consumes organisations today. Companies can be more efficient with their time and expertise instead of wasting it by collecting and sorting through data.

AI and machine learning can put data into context so that it is actually useful in helping firms to detect potential fraud before it has an opportunity to occur.