Payment Expert Summit: Fraud teams assert ‘you cannot trick us’

Fraud has existed for centuries, with individuals and businesses continually being targeted for financial or personal gain. Whilst efforts to prevent the issue have evolved, fraudsters often manage to stay one step ahead.

With the rise of digital platforms, the challenge of combating fraud has intensified. One industry particularly exposed to fraud is gambling, and this issue was thoroughly discussed at the Payment Expert Summit in Lisbon, where a panel examined the current fraud landscape and debated who should take responsibility for fighting it.

Identity verification is the first line of defence against fraud, and in the gambling sector, this is enforced through Know Your Customer (KYC) practices. The panellists noted that KYC has evolved significantly in recent years.

Dovile Kutkaite, Head of EDD at Nexi Group, remarked: “I don’t know how many years ago, but identity was equal to collecting ID and then you like, you thought that you were set, but now we have so much data available to us that you cannot trick us with just providing an ID.”

Roger Redfearn-Tyrzyk, VP of Global Gaming at IDnow, added: “I think where we are right now is so far advanced to where we were 25 years ago.”

In gambling, a common type of fraud occurs on the payment side, such as bonus abuse, where individuals create multiple accounts to take advantage of sign-up bonuses.

There are various ways to combat this type of fraud, mainly through the monitoring of risk signals. As highlighted by the panellists, KYC has moved beyond simply checking a single piece of identification. 

Operators now continuously assess players using real-time data. This includes tracking the device being used, verifying if it has been linked to fraud, and cross-referencing the email address with social media platforms to flag potential risks.

While having access to such a vast amount of data gives operators significant power, it also presents a challenge. They must be able to effectively manage and act on this information.

Meltem Üçüncü, Head of Risk, Payment, and Fraud at Merkur, expanded on this, saying: “We collect a lot of data, we see a lot of data, we can also share this data with the operators to help their controls and their attempts to check. 

“I mean, there is not necessarily a lot of responsibility on the payment side, but at least from a payment method perspective, we have a lot of tools and opportunities to support payment functions on the operator side to help you with their task.”

To assist in managing the vast amounts of data, many companies have turned to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for monitoring.

In a recent conversation with Payment Expert, Rahul Das, Director of Payments at LiveScore Group, shared his views on navigating this challenging landscape. He discussed how payment teams can defend against identity attacks, enhance fraud prevention through collaboration, and use KYC and new technologies to ensure secure and smooth transactions.

Responsibility: Where does It fall?

One key question raised during the panel was about responsibility: who should be held accountable for preventing fraud?

The panel agreed that the most effective way to combat fraud is through collaboration between operators, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), and regulators. However, data sharing, while possible, remains difficult due to regulatory and compliance hurdles.

Julija Haragezova, Head of Account Development (iGaming) at Trustly, noted: “I think what we probably don’t do enough is sharing certain things and I think we definitely should do more.

“There is always a pushback from compliance teams about data sharing protection, and so on. But as far as I understand, there are ways of sharing more data and I think that’s where payment providers should step up and support operators.”

Kutkaite echoed this call for greater collaboration, adding that fraud trends often emerge quickly on the operator’s side. “It would be really nice if there were a way to share it [data] with us, with service providers, and vice versa,” she explained. “Service providers, too, can offer valuable insights by sharing risk signals they detect, providing operators with early warnings about potential issues. 

“So yeah, I think it’s a shared responsibility, and we should collaborate more and be proactive in this collaboration.”