Featurespace founder and president, Dave Excell, spoke with BadCredit.org about how advanced fraud detection and prevention technology protects consumers from criminals.

In a Nutshell: As consumer fraud continues to evolve, some detection and prevention tools struggle to keep pace. Featurespace uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to track legitimate transaction patterns and identify fraudulent anomalies — which are constantly changing to avoid detection. It also establishes patterns of consumer behavior to spot fraud and identity theft more easily. Consumers should always take steps to protect their data and only transact with reputable businesses, but automated detection is an effective last line of defense. Featurespace’s sophisticated technology and novel approach represent a step forward in mitigating the impact of fraud on consumers.

The FCC’s consumer guide to auto warranty scams warns people that simply owning a vehicle and a phone can make them a target. Like all other fronts for fraud, the auto warranty pitches are nothing more than scammers trying to trick people into handing over valuable personal and financial information.

Because those schemes strive to appear legitimate, they can be hard to detect until the damage is already done. Scammer tactics are also constantly evolving, making it difficult for consumers to keep up with and spot new ploys.

However, the number of fraudulent transactions made using stolen data is relatively low compared to the number of legitimate daily consumer transactions. Those represent a solid baseline against which fraudulent activity can be measured and identified.

Featurespace takes that approach to protecting consumers. The company specializes in machine learning technology that identifies fraudulent behavior so consumers can mitigate it and prevent its negative impact.

“We didn’t start Featurespace with fraud in mind,” said David Excell, Founder of Featurespace. “It was more a question of how to apply machine learning to understand behavior.”

Excell and his team found that identifying fraud was the best way to leverage its AI to benefit businesses and consumers. Featurespace defines scams by comparing them with standard financial behaviors rather than tracking and detecting only acts of fraudulent behavior.

“If you bought a Starbucks on your way to work every Wednesday, that’s a pattern that we can start to identify,” Excell said. “We can see it repeat and start to say, ‘Yes, that’s always the behavior we’d expect on that particular card.’”

Based on those and other purchase patterns, Featurespace can more accurately spot fraudulent activity. The company represents a new, more efficient approach to fraud detection because it doesn’t depend on simply keeping pace with evolving scam tactics.

Read the full article at BadCredit.org.