OASIS is changing the game in fraud prevention. ARGO OASIS provides a multi-fund cross-channel analysis platform to detect fraudulent items, fraudulent transactions, and money laundering activity. It provides an integrated interface for adjudicating suspect items. In this video, let me show you some of our expanding fraud capabilities.
Alterations fraud relies on check washing or check scraping to remove and replace ink. Fraudsters typically wash checks to modify the payee and amount on an otherwise negotiable check. Fraudsters rewrite checks to A recipient identity they control for a larger sum, often hundreds or thousands of dollars more before cashing. Combating this growing problem requires image analysis depth using newer AI techniques. OASIS uses deep learning models to evaluate checks to detect subtle differences in handwriting. Sophisticated software analyzes the check image to ensure handwriting matches across check fields. In addition, the analysis compares handwriting to valid reference checks previously provided to the system. If the handwriting styles differ across fields or from previous images, the system flags the check as suspicious. To compensate for instances of poor image quality caused by handling or scanning, OASIS applies AI enhancement techniques to clean issues caused by noise, color, brightness, skew, rotation, and more. These cleaning techniques help maintain high fraud detection rates while reducing false positives.
First-party deposit fraud is typically perpetrated by customers who have a shorter history with the bank, deposit bad checks knowingly, and attempt to draw against those uncollected deposits. Third-party fraud may also occur with customers who are well known by the institution but deposit checks from other institutions without knowing they’re bad. Checks from third-party institutions are called transit checks. Because the checks have traveled from a different bank, it’s often difficult for the receiving bank to determine if the transit checks are bad. Even more difficult is knowing in real-time and placing appropriate holds. OASIS uses analytics to assess the transit items’ return likelihood by scoring characteristics of the check, the originating and depository accounts, balanced transaction, the conductor, and the transaction context. Transit item analysis includes transaction and image analysis, scoring each deposit item. OASIS combines this score with those from the depositing account, conductor activity, the entity profile, and other overriding bank policies to apply appropriate hold amounts and conditions.
A key risk with outgoing ACH payments is account takeover. Criminals use schemes like phishing, theft of credentials, malware, and social engineering to gain access to business customer systems. This leads to account takeover to initiate unauthorized ACH transactions. Another common scheme is CEO fraud, where a fraudster sends a fake email with access to the company’s bank account to an employee. The email appears to come from an executive requesting an urgent funds transfer. While financial institutions protect their systems and networks, it’s harder to prevent account takeover on the customer side. Security differs per customer; robust authentication and detection form a first layer of defense. But this may not be enough. A fraudulent transaction may be initiated by a customer’s malware-controlled system or properly authenticated by a misguided employee.
OASIS protects against account takeover from outgoing ACH transfers. OASIS verifies whether the account should be allowed to initiate an ACH transaction, make an international transfer, or have credits or debits posted on it through ACH at all. OASIS applies outlier models to flag payments that are out of pattern or suspicious for this account or customer, like initial penny transfers. OASIS scores outgoing payments based on the receiving account’s history of transactions and disputes with the counterparty account.
In addition to OASIS, ARGO offers SAND, a fraud detection and prevention solution for commercial checks and electronic payments. SAND helps corporate customers detect and prevent fraudulent checks and electronic transactions, lower costs, and reduce the time needed to evaluate exceptions. SAND expands traditional positive pay software and bridges the gap between check and electronic payments for increased fraud protection. It increases automation for on-demand images, alteration detection, assistance with reconciliation and reporting, and with SAND mobile, commercial account managers can use their phones or tablets to review suspicious items along with transaction information, paper images, and ACH payment details. After reviewing the details, the account manager can mark the transaction as genuine to be paid or fraudulent to be returned.
Our customers get hard financial benefits, most of them achieving a return on their investment in less than one year. This is a result of reductions in fraud loss, labor cost, the cost of owning and operating a fraud solution, and the labor requirements of compliance, reporting, and strategic management. OASIS expanded capability includes alteration detection, transit item analysis, ACH transaction analysis, and commercial mobile positive pay. OASIS more accurately detects and prevents fraud. Intelligent detection and machine decision-making allow for accurate reporting and improved strategic decisions. ARGO informs and empowers the institution’s direction as they take up the fight against the increasing challenge of preventing fraud.
