How banks are using behavioral fingerprinting to help prevent fraud

Behavioral biometric “fingerprinting” software watches and learns a user’s typical behavior and then raises a flag when it sees use that doesn’t align with previous behavior patterns. Behavioral analytic software is catching on in banking, worldwide.

Behavioral biometric software is embedded in a bank's apps and online banking website. As an example, with a mobile app, the analytic software can capture the angle at which a user holds their phone, the amount of pressure used on the keypad, the speed of the typing and the typographical errors the user tends to make. A unique biometric profile is built for the user. If it looks like another user is trying to access the account, the software sends an alert to the bank which may bar access to the account. Even when a new user is setting up an account, the software will compare the user to a fraudulent behavior profile.

One key benefit of behavioral biometric software is that it can catch fraud as it is taking place, stopping it before it succeeds. Another advantage is that the protection is seamless; it takes place without any effort required from the customer. The software is also very effective at stopping automated fraud – automated behavior is very different from and easy to detect compared to human behavior.

A main concern of behavioral biometric software is false positives. Companies interviewed for the article below said that most of the alerts they receive genuinely turn out to be fraud, and with the success rate of fraud prevention, the software has more than proven its worth. However, if a person has an injury to their hand or wrist, or tries to access a banking account while inebriated, they may very well have trouble accessing their account.


Next-Gen Biometrics: Using the Force of Habit

Penny Crosman for American Banker, November 17, 2016