FiVerity, the leading provider of Anti-Fraud Collaboration solutions, today announced new platform features designed to help the financial industry fight back against fraud. FiVerity also announced it is opening the network to an initial 200 small and medium-sized financial institutions, providing approved businesses with free access to its Digital Fraud Network for a limited time. 

The rising prevalence of advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-driven fraud tools, coupled with the turbulence caused by recent events in the banking industry, has created a "perfect storm" for financial fraud. This challenging environment poses significant hurdles for financial institutions of all sizes to protect themselves effectively. In response, industry stakeholders, including financial institutions, data providers, and government agencies, have recognized collaboration as the most effective strategy to combat these evolving threats. By joining forces, they aim to leverage collective intelligence and resources to counteract the growing strength of fraudulent activities. 

To help fuel the cause, FiVerity has enhanced its Anti-Fraud Collaboration Platform with new features that identify fraud and risk more accurately and in real-time. To level the playing field, the company also unveiled plans to provide small and medium-sized financial institutions with free access to the Digital Fraud Network, which includes some of the most innovative names in financial services such as BHG Financial, Digital Federal Credit Union, and Grasshopper Bank to share intelligence on fraudulent identities to stop criminal fraud in real-time. 

The free offering is available to the first 200 qualifying businesses, which will gain limited platform usage for a period of one year. Eligible financial institutions must have less than $1.5B in total assets and under 200 queries/applications each month. 

"Criminals have become increasingly adept at perpetrating financial fraud by leveraging sophisticated AI tools like ChatGPT,” said Greg Woolf, CEO of FiVerity. “They exploit the initial stages of fraudulent activities in small and medium-sized financial institutions, gradually building a deceptive history and establishing credibility before targeting larger institutions. This places small and medium-sized institutions at a disadvantage as they often lack the resources and access to tools possessed by larger entities. To address this pressing issue, FiVerity recognizes the urgent need for all financial institutions, regardless of size, to have equal access to advanced tools and intelligence. By enabling banks and credit unions of all sizes to collaborate in real-time, detect fraudulent activities, share crucial information, and prevent fraud effectively, we are leveling the playing field and empowering the industry to stay ahead of

fraudsters. Today's announcement marks a crucial step towards cutting off sophisticated fraud at its early stages and safeguarding the integrity of the financial ecosystem." 

The Lifecycle of Sophisticated Fraud 

Sophisticated fraud operates through a strategic lifecycle, often finding its initial foothold within smaller financial institutions. Fraudsters exploit the relative ease of infiltrating and establishing fraudulent accounts in these institutions, leveraging their limited resources and potentially less robust security measures. By discreetly building credibility and evading detection, they lay the groundwork for future fraudulent activities. As these deceptive accounts mature and gain a semblance of legitimacy, fraudsters subsequently move on to larger financial institutions, using the established history as a stepping stone for more significant fraudulent endeavors. Recognizing this pattern is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies, as it highlights the critical need to empower smaller financial institutions with the necessary tools, intelligence, and collaborative frameworks to detect and thwart fraud at its earliest stages, thereby disrupting the lifecycle of sophisticated fraud. 

Using AI Tools to Commit Financial Fraud 

Fraudsters are also increasing their use of available automation and AI-based tools, which make it fast, easy, and inexpensive to conduct financial fraud. With these tools, they emulate real identities, using a combination of fabricated or stolen profile pictures, biographies, social network profiles, social security numbers, driver's licenses, and other documents. This provides the perfect ‘front’ for cybercriminals to undertake their nefarious activities, such as opening bank accounts, applying for loans, and carrying out financial transactions. 

FiVerity’s New Information-Sharing Capabilities 

To help improve collaboration and give financial institutions the solutions they need to identify fraud already in process, FiVerity has opened up its network to include intelligence from financial institutions and fraud detection providers of all types and sizes, while enhancing its Anti-Fraud Collaboration Platform with the following: 

● Real-Time Fraud Identification: Users receive instant alerts from multiple sources, signaling the detection of a fraudulent account and what its details are, helping to prevent fraud before it spreads. 

● Adaptive Risk Scoring: Advanced machine learning algorithms expose emerging fraud patterns, helping users better understand fraudsters' methods while comparing those patterns against their applications. 

● Risk-Indicator Transparency: Instant human inspection and understanding of fraud patterns for superior accuracy and expansion of fraud identification. 

● Continuous Portfolio Monitoring and Alerting: Network participants are notified when a fraudulent account has been identified by the network, regardless of the age or activity of the account within their institution. 

Keeping consumer information safe through anonymization 

FiVerity’s technology makes this possible by anonymizing Personal Identifiable Information (PII) during the information-sharing process. The platform is powered by fraud analyst-in-the-loop artificial intelligence (AI), which validates and enhances members' fraud detection and prevention capabilities. The technology powering the network has been in use by customers who have seen significant increases in fraud detection and is supported by government agencies such as FDIC and FinCEN. In 2022, FiVerity led a team that won the Effectiveness and Impact category at the FDIC / FinCEN Tech Sprint on digital identity proofing.