Published: August 2, 2018
Reading time: 3 minute read
Written by: Kayla Parker

Whether you work in the online fraud prevention and payments space, or simply work for a brand that has a technology focus, chances are you’ve heard the following words buzzing around the office: “Artificial Intelligence (AI),” “Machine Learning,” and “Big Data.” But what to do these terms actually mean? Let’s break them down:

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

The ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. (Intelligent beings can adapt to changing circumstances). 

Example: Google Maps is an excellent example of AI at work, using predictive technology and analyzing the speed and movement of traffic to determine your ETA.

Machine Learning:

The science of getting computers to learn and act like humans do, and improve their learning over time in an autonomous fashion, by feeding them data and information in the form of observations and real-world interactions.

Example: Ride sharing apps use machine learning to determine fare rates and wait time, and to match you with other potential riders.

Big Data:

Perhaps one of the most challenging terms to pin down with a single definition, Forbes attempted to do the impossible in 2014. Needless to say, defining this concept since that time has not gotten any simpler, but it is typically applied as an all-encompassing term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand data management tools or traditional data processing applications.

Example: Predictive analytics use big data to identify past patterns and help predict future events.

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Turning the Buzz Into a Solution

Even if you’ve mastered the standard definitions of these buzzwords, what do they all mean for fraud prevention solutions serving online merchants?

These buzzwords help garner interest from potential clients, but they don’t always accurately describe how all fraud prevention tools work.  As it relates to fraud prevention, AI can diminish the power of manual reviews and lengthy review queues requiring repetitive work. At Forter, we leverage AI to streamline the process by which customer interactions – anything from logging into  a user account to redeeming reward points – can be identified as suspicious. AI can remove manual processes through combined efforts with machine learning, to automate and more importantly, to instantly decision interactions, all before reaching the point of checkout. In many cases, fraud prevention providers may boast that they have AI capabilities, but in truth, they continue to use rules-based systems designed with manual review teams in mind.

Forter combines AI with machine learning models, creating a system of probabilistic linking mechanisms that can determine, based on data fed to the models by human experts and researchers, whether personas seen on a retailers’ network are indeed who they say they are. The use of AI and machine learning together create a core system that is autonomous, highly accurate, and incredibly adept. While we do not rely on manual review teams, Forter combines the best of man and machine, by relying on fraud experts to research and track fraud trends which are then fed into our models.

Leveraging the concept of big data can be complicated. Big data more or less refers to the fact that now more than ever, there is an abundance of online information available and moreover, that consumer’s online lives are richer and more complex than ever before. An abundance of data is a good thing. It can enrich machine learning models and create intricate networks with which to work. However, fraud prevention providers need to understand how to maximize the potential of big data while also staying ahead of today’s fraud trends. With big data, it becomes increasingly obvious that manual reviewing won’t scale, and therefore fraud prevention providers need to understand how to truly leverage the wealth of data points.

At Forter we do this through our unique blend of AI and human intelligence – something we refer to as our “Integrated Intelligence.” Our machine pulls out the “big data” trends and our expert researchers identify the “small data” ones – which is important when aiming to stop a new fraud technique before it becomes destructive on a large scale.

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An Expert System

The right combination of AI, machine learning, and big data (combined with a human touch by way of fraud analyst expertise) is what Forter calls an “expert system” – a system which leverages the potential of big data and the power of machine learning, guided by the understanding, experience, and skill of highly trained analysts. In this manner, we are able to provide the best of the buzz. Leveraging full automation, efficiency, and the boundless capabilities of machines to build upon the expertise of our human intelligence, we have created a scalable and fully automated, real-time fraud prevention solution that stops fraud before it occurs.

3 minute read