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How much does fraud cost businesses and individuals each year? A 2019 study by consultancy Crowe put the annual global figure at more than $5 trillion – and that was before COVID-19’s upheaval created a perfect climate for fraud. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), more than half (51%) of organisations have faced rising fraud since the pandemic’s onset, while nearly three-quarters (71%) anticipate further increases.

"Beyond raising awareness and training employees, data analysis and emerging technology adoption are the most effective ways government and business can proactively detect and prevent fraud," said ACFE President and CEO Bruce Dorris. "As we observe Fraud Week, support from advocates like SAS highlights the critical need for organisations to leverage anti-fraud technology to protect themselves and the public."

Banking on AI and machine learning to curb fraud

In the fraud realm, there’s no bigger target than the banking sector, hemorrhaging billions in fraud losses each year. A recent study by TransUnion revealed a 149% spike in digital fraud attempts against financial services worldwide in the early months of 2021 – no doubt fed by the pandemic’s digital banking boom. Forward-thinking banking leaders have already armed their organisations with advanced analytics from SAS.

Detecting fraud and risk on the high seas

COVID-19 has roiled the world’s supply chains. But even as congested cargo ports and threats of bare shelves steal headlines, costly risks loom unseen. Dark ports of call. Suspicious ship-to-ship transfers. Dubious loitering.

With billions of dollars at stake each year, AI is being applied to tens of billions of data points to illuminate vessel behaviour like never before. Lloyd’s List Intelligence and SAS earlier this year debuted Seasearcher Advanced Risk and Compliance, a maritime risk analysis platform. The data models, developed in collaboration with leading shipping, commodities, finance, legal and insurance experts, aid cross-industry evaluation of deceptive shipping practices and illicit activities. This helps compliance professionals act quickly to avoid fines, sanctions and reputational damage.

“Our collaboration with SAS has pushed our analytical capabilities into another realm,” said Michael Dell, President of Lloyd’s List Intelligence. “We are now providing our customers with a new level of risk detection and assessment that resets the bar for maritime intelligence and drives transparency in the industry.”

The future of anti-fraud technology

SAS and the ACFE unveiled the results from their latest follow up survey from their Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report, initiated in 2019. Preliminary findings signal that advanced analytics have become even more indispensable for fighting fraud in its many forms.

“Organisations are reporting significant COVID-driven upticks in their application of anti-fraud technology, with 43% of respondents indicating they’ve accelerated their use of analytics to combat fraud amid the pandemic,” said Stu Bradley, Senior Vice President of Fraud and Security Intelligence at SAS.

“Further, 60% expect bigger anti-fraud tech budgets over the next two years. As they modernise their technology, operations and customer engagement models, these investments can become the foundation of a broader enterprise decisioning strategy that fuels innovation, from the back office to customer-facing engagement,” he concluded.