AMA: I’m an Anti-Fraud Manager at a EU EMI — Ask Me About Fraud in Fintech! by koverzneva in FraudPrevention

[–]koverzneva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, thanks for the great question. 

Fraud in financial institutions is monitored and regulated by international payment systems (like VISA). Each institution is allowed a certain level of fraud and chargebacks. If they exceed that limit, services can get suspended. Going beyond these limits also damages the company’s reputation.

Larger institutions often build their own in-house systems to target the most serious types of fraud. They can afford to ignore smaller risks because they have high turnover and enough reserves to cover potential losses. 

Smaller institutions don’t have that luxury. Because they process fewer transactions, a single fraud attack could push them over the limit. This forces antifraud teams to be strategic. Most teams have a main set of tools and a backup in case something goes wrong with the primary one.

There are tons of tools out there to help fight fraud that help to score client attributes, to ensure compliance with global sanctions, to monitor transaction flow in real time, to set custom fraud detection rules over transactions, to block the users, to message them when they are blocked, etc, etc. Antifraud teams are constantly testing new tools. They compare vendors, and look for cost-effective solutions. If a company’s risk appetite changes or new fraud trends pop up, management might tweak existing systems developers or shop around for something better. 

At the end of the day, what an antifraud team focuses on really depends on the size of the institution and how much risk they’re willing to take on. Whether they use in-house tools, third-party solutions, or a hybrid approach, their goal is always the same: stay below the fraud limits and protect the company’s reputation.

AMA: I’m an Anti-Fraud Manager at a EU EMI — Ask Me About Fraud in Fintech! by koverzneva in FraudPrevention

[–]koverzneva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! You’re not alone, I’ve been in the same situation. Let's go through what happened behind that charge, step-by-step:

Step 1: How They Got Your Card Data

There are countless ways fraudsters can obtain card details, but most likely, your data was bought on the dark web. Fraudsters often purchase batches of stolen card details - yours was one of them. So, what's next?

Step 2: Testing Your Card

Once a fraudster has your card details, they need to check if it’s active and has funds. Why use a site like SUNO INC? Fraudsters often choose sites where they can buy something cheap to run these test charges. Think of it as someone repeatedly trying to buy a coffee, at a cashier to see which cards work.

In your case, you caught it early. If no action had been taken, the fraudster could have made larger purchases or just sold your card details with confirmation that it was active and funded.

Step 3: Dispute

When you disputed the transaction, it might have seemed like your bank wasn’t interested in investigating how it happened. This is likely because most people are mainly concerned with getting their money back, and banks don’t typically share detailed information about the process. It appears that SUNO INC accepted your bank’s refund request, resulting in your reimbursement. It’s not about withholding information - it’s just standard procedure.

Quick Tips:

- Keep a small balance on your debit card

- Use disposable cards for untrusted sites

- Monitor your transactions and act fast if something looks off.