Experian, BioCatch Fighting Online Fraud Via Biometrics

Experian, the credit rating company, is getting into the biometrics market, inking a deal with technology company BioCatch to use behavioral biometrics to fight fraud.

According to a report in Reuters, the partnership is aimed at enabling customers to identify fraudsters applying for credit cards and lending products online. BioCatch’s software is being integrated into Experian’s fraud prevention platform and will analyze how users interact with their devices and websites by tracking a slew of different things such as how fast someone types or moves the mouse around a website. The information will then help BioCatch figure out when it’s the real person or a fake one. It will be particularly helpful in spotting an automated program or bot being used by a bad actor to apply for credit cards online with stolen identity.

“Behavioral biometrics is one of the up-and-coming techniques for defending against fraud,” said John Sarreal, director of product management at Experian, in the report. “It is effective in this day and age when you have more scripted attacks and more bot armies recruited to submit applications.”

Reuters noted that financial companies are looking to use more sophisticated technologies to fight online fraud. Reuters pointed to data from Javelin, the market research firm, that showed around 6 percent of U.S. consumers were victim of identity fraud last year, up by more than 2 million victims in 2015.

Frances Zelazny, vice president of BioCatch, told Reuters a slew of behaviors can be monitored to figure out a real person from a fraudulent one including how familiar a user is with the application process. A fake user may be slower to fill out basic information than the real person.

For real users, “there tend to be natural pauses between data entry, as you don’t really know if the form is going to ask you for your phone number or ZIP code next,” Zelazny said in the report.