Management of application fraud has traditionally been a staid affair. Rules and scorecards have been successful for many years, but we’ve reached an inflexion point. There are too many changing factors, and organizations that continue to rely on rules, credit bureau data, and batch processing will increasingly struggle to stem the flow of application fraud. Huge data breaches, an increasingly digital economy, and customers that demand instant service call for a new strategy.

Financial services companies are involved in a constant battle to stay ahead of criminals who fraudulently open accounts. This arms race is often limited to incremental changes that are reactive to attacks. In recent years, the factors influencing application fraud have undergone massive changes. This paper looks to establish why now is the time to make a big step up in how you fight application fraud rather than sticking to a strategy of reactive, incremental changes.