This solution will stop card fraud for more than one billion NOK this year

Banks and customers alike can do a lot to prevent payment cards being hacked and information falling into the wrong hands. Thanks to the transaction monitoring system developed by our experts in the Financial Crime Prevention team, only one percent of cards issued by DNB have been subject to fraud in the past six months. Many banks began introducing transaction monitoring systems for payment cards as early as the late 1990s. In DNB, which is Norway's largest bank, these systems are continually being developed as the techniques used by criminals become increasingly sophisticated and complex.

According to Mona Neskvern, who is responsible for card fraud prevention in DNB, all transactions are monitored for fraudulent transactions performed on the bank's cards, both credit cards and regular bank cards.

'In this way we can decline suspicious authorisation requests as soon as they occur or we immediately contact customers to check whether they or someone else carried out the transaction,' Mona explains. When incidents like this occur, the card is temporarily blocked until the bank has contacted the customer. Once that happens, the card is either blocked permanently or unblocked so that it can be used again. Any new card issued to the customer will have a different card number so that it can't be misused by the same criminals.'

Mona Neskvern is responsible for card fraud prevention in DNB.

Best in class in transaction monitoring

TietoEVRY has been delivering and operating DNB's transaction monitoring system since the early 2000s. This system recognizes customers' usage patterns, monitors all card transactions in real time and triggers an alert when it detects anomalies in a customer's usage pattern.

'We really appreciate the trust DNB places in us and the good results they've achieved with our transaction monitoring system. Our team of experts and analysts work night and day to make sure that the bank's customers can use their cards safely and simply, says Gunnar Koren, who heads TietoEVRY's Financial Crime Prevention team.

Our transaction monitoring system is based on a mix of artificial intelligence (AI) and human analysis that is used both to recognize each customer's usage pattern and to detect any anomalies in it.

‘In this way we can act swiftly to stop potential fraud in real time and thereby prevent losses for the customer and the bank, says Gunnar.

TietoEVRY has more than 20 years of experience in transaction monitoring, and we are constantly working on improving our services and staying one step ahead of international trends. A combination of local presence, long experience and new technology enables us to rapidly and accurately detect and stop new fraud patterns.

‘This is the main reason why more than 90 banks throughout the Nordics and the UK have chosen to use our service to keep their customers safe,' says Gunnar.

Gunnar Koren is heading TietoEVRY's Financial Crime Prevention team.

DNB's advice on how to avoid hacking

A golden rule for reducing the extent of card fraud is always to use a credit card when paying for something online.

Fraud prevention specialist Mona in DNB says that over 90 percent of card fraud instances occur without the criminals having access to physical cards.

'They get hold of card numbers by hacking online stores or other parties in payment networks. Customers can't do anything to stop this, and will have their money returned,' she says.

Here are DNB's own card safety tips which everyone should follow:

• Make a mental note of your PIN code and make sure no one is looking over your shoulder when you enter it.
• Use credit cards when traveling abroad and making purchases online. That way you avoid the money leaving your account should you fall victim to fraud.
• Check your account statement, payments and credit card invoices regularly so that you can identify any transactions you don't recognize.

Additionally, TietoEVRY offers the following words of advice on how to avoid fraud:

• Avoid clicking on links in text messages or emails that ask you for your card details or your BankID password and code. This applies even if the text message or email appears to come from a trustworthy source.
• Banks, the police and the authorities will never contact you by phone to ask for details about your cards, codes or passwords. Should this happen, it is most likely an attempt at fraud.
• Tempting deals online, whether they be for luxury goods, subscriptions or investments, are often disguised attempts to lure you into providing personal details or money. 

You can read DNB's own article on card fraud here (in Norwegian). 

You can also read more about what TietoEVRY can offer in the areas of financial crime prevention, fraud prevention and transaction monitoring here.