Financial institutions face an increasingly complex fraud landscape, driven by organised criminal networks, evolving attack vectors, rising regulatory scrutiny and greater operational fraud losses. As mobile banking becomes the norm, fraud prevention technologies must meet stringent operational, legal, and customer-centric requirements. This article outlines five critical capabilities that financial institutions consistently demand in fraud prevention platforms—and how ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite (FRS) addresses them.

1 – Threat Intelligence for Proactive Defence

Financial institutions increasingly require real-time visibility into fraud campaigns, mobile malware, and the underlying criminal infrastructure. To enable a truly proactive posture, threat intelligence must not only identify active campaigns but also anticipate imminent ones, track their geographic evolution, and inform pre-emptive fraud defence strategies.

A frequently cited detection gap is mobile malware. Despite investments in multiple technologies, financial institutions report persistent blind spots in identifying and mitigating mobile-based threats.

ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite (FRS) addresses this challenge by integrating Mobile Threat Intelligence (MTI), which continuously monitors criminal tactics, infrastructure, and malware families. This intelligence is operationalised within the fraud detection engine, enabling early identification of emerging threats and significantly reducing detection gaps.

2 – Behavioural Intelligence for Modern Online Channels

Financial institutions require fraud detection systems capable of distinguishing legitimate user behaviour from anomalous or fraudulent activity. This capability is particularly critical in mobile-first environments, where behavioural patterns often serve as the most reliable indicators of fraud.

The need for such technology is driven by the growing prevalence of scams, with social engineering emerging as a dominant method of attack. When implemented modularly, behavioural analytics can be extended to support Know Your Customer (KYC) and Fraud-Anti Money Laundering (FRAML) scenarios, addressing broader use cases such as onboarding fraud.

ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite (FRS) incorporates behavioural analytics through dual-model analysis—comparing current user behaviour against both historical baselines and known fraudster profiles. This enables the detection of subtle anomalies such as hesitation, erratic navigation, or scripted input patterns, which are indicative of scams, account takeover (ATO), or, in the UK and Ireland region, authorised push payment (APP) fraud.

3 – Modular Architecture for Scalability and Integration

Financial institutions require fraud solutions that integrate seamlessly into existing systems without necessitating full platform replacement. Flexibility in deployment and modularity in design are essential to accommodate diverse operational environments and evolving threat profiles.

A commonly cited drawback of comprehensive fraud platforms is their monolithic architecture, which often results in extended implementation timelines and compels fraud management teams to adapt their processes to the technology—whereas many argue the technology should adapt to existing workflows.

ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite (FRS) is designed as a modular solution, enabling institutions to deploy specific components—such as Device Risk or Behavioural Risk—based on their operational needs. This architecture supports rapid integration, phased implementation, and targeted enhancement of existing fraud controls.

4 – Privacy-Preserving Design Aligned with Regulation

With GDPR and other global data protection regulations in force, financial institutions must ensure that fraud detection systems do not compromise user privacy. These solutions must minimise data collection while maintaining high detection efficacy.

Moreover, processing personally identifiable information (PII) introduces significant operational overhead—including additional audits, compliance checks, and resource costs. As a result, privacy-by-design is not only preferred by EU-based institutions but increasingly adopted globally. When fraud detection can match or exceed the performance of PII-dependent technologies, it represents an optimal balance between technological investment, regulatory compliance, and customer trust.

ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite (FRS) adheres to privacy-by-design principles, avoiding the collection of PII and ensuring data minimisation. Behavioural data is abstracted and anonymised, and all data is encrypted at rest. The platform is ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certified, aligning with international standards for security and privacy.

5 – Transparent Licensing and Operational Efficiency

Financial institutions prioritise predictable cost structures and operational efficiency in their fraud prevention investments. Licensing models that penalise growth or introduce hidden fees are increasingly viewed as unsuitable, particularly in environments where fraud volumes and customer expansion are difficult to forecast.

Many institutions explicitly reject pricing schemes based on metrics such as “per API call,” citing budgeting unpredictability and a perceived lack of fairness. Instead, they seek licensing frameworks that offer control over costs—regardless of fluctuations in customer base size or the intensity of criminal activity targeting their users.

ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite (FRS) addresses these concerns through modular licensing with clearly defined cost parameters. This approach reduces implementation overhead, simplifies fraud queue management, and enables financial organisations to align expenditure with value, supporting long-term operational sustainability.

Conclusion

The requirements outlined above reflect the strategic priorities of financial institutions navigating a rapidly evolving fraud landscape. ThreatFabric’s Fraud Risk Suite is engineered to meet these demands through a combination of behavioural analytics, threat intelligence, modular architecture, privacy preservation, and transparent licensing. As fraud continues to evolve, so must the technologies designed to prevent it.