Fortunately, banks are using predictive modeling and network link analysis to detect and prevent victims from digital scams.

A bank in Singapore has announced the deployment of a Fraud Surveillance System (FSS) as part of its Operational Risk Management program.

The FSS is part of OCBC Bank’s commitment to use technology to combat fraud. While its customers are liable for transactions, the bank have invested into technology to potentially save customers from falling prey to fraudsters and scammers.

Notably, OCBC claims to have been the first bank in Singapore to tap AI and machine learning to combat financial crime, and the first to launch its own AI unit in the country.

Analyzing fraud with AI

The pandemic has driven a digital banking boom, and scammers have been quick to cash in on the trend. In Singapore, banking-related scams have surged in the wake of the pandemic, leaving clients vulnerable to phishing and other means of fraud.

Therefore, to protect customers, OCBC collaborated with SAS Institute on a phased deployment of FSS to monitor customer activities and transactions, resulting in improved customer experience and operational outcomes.

The FSS uses a combination of flexible data and network analytics, as well as cutting-edge surveillance techniques, to monitor customer activities and transactions. The solution’s capabilities include assisting in the detection, investigative remediation, and analysis of customer fraud exposures using multiple analytic techniques. These include predictive modelling, text mining, network link analysis and other methods to proactively identify known and unknown patterns.

The holistic capability of FSS enables monitoring of customers’ transactions and alerts in real-time. Monitoring is done across multiple channels, including ATM, CASA, online banking, mobile banking, wire-transfers, as well as corporate transactions.

With FSS, synergies have been achieved across OCBC’s operations in multiple countries, including its Hong Kong subsidiary, OCBC Wing Hang Bank (April 2021), and OCBC Hong Kong Branch (May 2021). The FSS will also be made available in OCBC’s branches in South-east Asia such as Thailand and Vietnam (end-2021).

Apart from using the latest technology, the bank has also expanded the monitoring scope and capabilities of anti-fraud measures, revamped its fraud education program to strengthen fraud awareness among staff, and extended a whistle-blowing program to the public. Proactive risk management also remains a core focus, concentrating on vulnerable customer segments.