PSCU Adds Weapon to Fraud-Fighting Arsenal, Proactively Predicting and Preventing Fraud Before It Occurs

St. Petersburg, Fla. — (Aug. 16, 2018) — PSCU, the nation’s premier payments CUSO, now has another weapon to help it predict and defend against fraud: Linked Analysis enables PSCU to look at the connection between accounts in an effort to identify fraud before it occurs. The company has seen an exponential month-to-month increase in fraud blocked since it launched Linked Analysis in April.

Linked Analysis uses cross-network analytics to create a 360° view of a member, enabling PSCU to link events across different platforms, individuals across different institutions, merchants across any card, and all of these points to each other. Using these connections, data scientists at PSCU then utilize research and machine learning to proactively take action.

“The most recent addition to our integrated suite of fraud offerings, Linked Analysis allows us to provide comprehensive, integrated fraud protection across channels, rapidly identifying linkages, compromises, breaches and common points of purchase,” said Jack Lynch, Chief Risk Officer at PSCU. “By using shared intelligence to predict and defend against fraud, we are enabling a greater member experience for our Owners.”

PSCU’s data scientists are key to the success of Linked Analysis. This talented internal team of fraud-fighting experts takes data from multiple sources and then connects the dots between product usages to identify potential ways in for fraudsters.

Recent examples of Linked Analysis in action include:

• Predictive Save – After detecting activity that was not consistent with a member’s typical pattern, Fraud Intelligence blocked cards before any losses or attempts. This was followed shortly thereafter with attempted fraud that would have otherwise been approved.
  
  
• Suspicious Circumstances – Activities were monitored across multiple platforms and correlated real-time. Upon correlation of a failure to authenticate on two different platforms, Fraud Intelligence was able to secure accounts before any losses were experienced.
  
  
• Balance Consolidation – Near real-time monitoring of balance consolidation transactions was deployed, allowing Fraud Intelligence to begin monitoring using Linked Analysis. Activity between completely different platforms was linked using a 360° view of the member, resulting in the interception and reversal of electronic balance consolidation transactions with no loss to the credit union. The organized group then moved on to another PSCU Owner credit union. One-hundred percent of the fraudulent attempts against the second credit union were intercepted due to intelligence gathered from past events with the first credit union.

PSCU utilizes a comprehensive set of integrated fraud offerings to safeguard Owner credit unions from fraudulent activity. As a result of best-in-class fraud offerings like Linked Analysis, PSCU continues to lead the industry with high fraud recovery rates and the lowest fraud loss-to-sales ratios. Over the last year, PSCU’s proactive fraud prevention technologies, processes and policies stopped more than $200 million in fraudulent transactions.

“Fraud has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. Thanks to Linked Analysis, PSCU is able to be more proactive than ever in preventing fraud. We are now looking at all of the data available to us, identifying where there might be potential trends in the future, and using that information to prevent and detect fraud sooner,” added Lynch.

About PSCU
PSCU is the nation’s premier payments CUSO. Committed to service excellence and focused on innovation, PSCU offers a comprehensive, highly integrated suite of traditional and digital payments solutions for credit unions to optimize their member experience. Leveraging digital technology, PSCU supports the success of nearly 900 Owner credit unions representing over 20 million accounts through secure, best-in-class solutions including payment processing, risk management, analytics, loyalty programs, digital banking, marketing, strategic consulting and mobile platforms. Comprehensive, 24/7/365 member support is delivered by contact centers located throughout the United States. The origin of PSCU’s model is collaboration and scale, and the company has leveraged its influence on behalf of credit unions and their members for more than 40 years. For more information, visit pscu.com.