Guardian Analytics, Inc. today announced the release of FraudMAP(TM), its fraud prevention solution for protecting online accounts from fraud and identity theft. Providing comprehensive online channel risk management, FraudMAP delivers fraud detection, forensics and ongoing risk monitoring based on strong analytics and rich, predictive models of individual behavior. The unique solution was built from the ground up to automatically detect new online fraud threats without requiring fraud rules development or algorithm training.

"Online accounts continue to be under attack from constantly evolving threats designed to steal account holder assets and information. These threats put the integrity of the online channel at risk and jeopardize the growth of online business," said Tom Miltonberger, president and CEO, Guardian Analytics. "Existing online fraud prevention tactics are inadequate for addressing today's innovative fraud networks and the risk management needs of financial institutions overall. With today's release, Guardian Analytics has taken a new approach - one based on the unique requirements of the online channel - to better protect accounts against new and emerging threats."

"At Star One, we are committed to fraud prevention and actively pursue the best technologies to protect our members' assets and ensure trust in the online channel," said Margarete Mucker, vice president of remote services and assistant security officer, Star One Credit Union. "Guardian Analytics pinpoints suspicious activity and greatly enhances our investigation efforts. The solution has become an integral part of our overall banking security strategy, including its use by employees to quickly factor individual member online activity into the fraud risk assessment of member transactions in other channels," added Mucker.

Guardian Analytics FraudMAP delivers better fraud prevention through more accurate detection, actionable analysis and increased visibility into suspicious online activity. The solution complements existing technologies, such as enhanced authentication, and protects online channels using two unique architectural components, which include:

- The Risk Engine, which uses strong analytics and predictive models ofindividual online customer behavior to minimize false positives. Unlike conventional approaches, the Risk Engine's real-time DynamicAccount Modeling(TM) automatically detects new fraud attacks withoutrequiring rules development or algorithm training.

- The Risk Application, which features a visual analytic interface to aidinvestigation, resolution and risk monitoring.Going beyond simplealerts, the Risk Application delivers users high-fidelity risk scoresand extensive contextual information behind the risk score to supportcomprehensive analysis and investigation.

Supports Cross-functional Fraud Prevention Processes

In addition, FraudMAP supports cross-functional fraud prevention processes to help financial institutions stay ahead of fraudsters:

- Alerting and Investigation - core functionality ensures quick andthorough investigation of truly suspicious online activity;

- Risk Management - dovetails with overall risk management processes bysystematically tracking fraud risk levels and measuring the performanceof countermeasures over time. Users can aggregate online activity forquantitative reporting of trends and meeting audit and compliancerequirements;

- Business Operations - employees in operational roles gain insight intoindividual customer online activity for tasks such as correlatingoffline fraud with online activity to uncover multi-channel fraudschemes.

"Financial institutions must curb online account fraud or run the risk of irreparable damage to their reputation and substantial customer loss," said Nick Holland, senior analyst, AITE Group, a financial services market research firm in Boston. "Our research has shown that the sophistication and tenacity of fraudsters is growing at an alarming rate. By implementing a solution that employs behavior-based analytics, financial institutions have the opportunity to stay ahead of the fraud threat and protect their online channel."