CheckFree Introduces Automated Fraud Detection System

Over the years, CheckFree has established a cooperative network of security, privacy and law enforcement contacts across more than 1,700 consumer provider clients, billing organizations and merchants across various jurisdictions. CheckFree FraudNet is an automated fraud detection and case management system that is designed to be a collaborative solution. The service combines CheckFrees cumulative knowledge of payment patterns and a sophisticated analytics engine to help financial services clients detect and stop unauthorized payments before they are completed. CheckFree FraudNet is powered in part by a sophisticated analytics engine from Actimize, the leading provider of enterprise technology solutions for mitigating operational risk, using real-time analytics. CheckFree FraudNet is proving very effective at the detection of possible fraudulent transactions through the automation of fraud prevention, detection and case resolution processes that have been conducted successfully for many years by CheckFree Fraud Control Services. Not only does CheckFree FraudNet have the potential to significantly reduce losses for participating banks, but the data on attempted fraudulent transactions can provide forensics to law enforcement to help catch and prosecute fraudsters. Fraud rates for CheckFrees electronic billing and payment have historically been extremely low due to stringent policies and practices already in place. Now, as the continued adoption of electronic billing and payment increases volumes, these processes will be more fully automated, monitored and able to stop fraudulent transactions before they occur. How it Works As the leading provider of electronic billing and payment services to more than 1,700 consumer service providers, CheckFree is in a unique position to help its customers fight fraud. The CheckFree FraudNet system adds the ability to detect rules-based anomalies and place payment transactions into queues for further examination by fraud prevention teams at either CheckFree or its financial institution clients. The Actimize analytics engine issues alerts when suspicious transactions or fraud patterns are detected. A Yellow Alert transaction enters a queue as it alerts fraud prevention teams to examine the payment that is ready to be processed. The Red Alert signals a high likelihood of fraud and holds the payment for review by a Fraud Specialist. If the payment is cleared as valid, the transaction is processed with a negligible delay. This new automation is designed to take the level of quality of previous processes to the next level of detection and prevention as consumer adoption continues and monthly payment volumes are anticipated to increase. As the CheckFree FraudNet engine gathers increasing amounts of data from the millions of transactions CheckFree processes daily, the intelligent system continues to learn and continually gets smarter. These ongoing improvements will deliver shared benefits to all CheckFree customers who utilize the service. CheckFree FraudNet monitors every bill payment transaction that appears on consumers accounts at member banks and matches them against pre-established rules developed through experience. Consumers who pay bills online will not notice the review process or longer payment times unless a transaction is determined to be potentially fraudulent. The alert system allows the fraud teams at a bank or at CheckFree to investigate and resolve Red and Yellow Alerts quickly and more effectively manage their time and case loads. CheckFree FraudNet Alliance Every financial institution that leverages CheckFree FraudNet technology becomes part of an alliance that leverages a wealth of experiential history. Each member also has the ability to manually enter information to continually enhance the effectiveness of the tool, reduce cross-industry response times and potentiall