Many industries concern themselves with fraud detection, and rightfully so. As the use of digital communications and applications increases, so does the threat of fraud. Regardless of your industry, application performance management is among the most effective ways to proactively monitor and safeguard your website, and ultimately, your reputation.

How APM Solutions Support Fraud Detection

While there are many solutions and tools designed specifically to detect fraud, APM solutions provide a necessary amount of leverage, which allows the detection of fraud to be more efficient and accurate. There are many ways the APM solutions are able to detect fraud, the following is an example of how application performance management can reduce the likelihood of being a victim of fraud:

• Establish “Normal” Parameters - The only way an APM tool is able to determine if an activity or “event” could potentially be fraud is by setting “normal” parameters within each transaction/process. Once this standard has been established, the tool automatically notifies administrators if a transaction or event is requesting an operation outside of these parameters.
• Establish Transaction Patterns – Each process within an application only has so many variables. In fact, the majority of events must follow a set pattern to accomplish its goal. Through the implementation of an APM solution, any event or transaction that goes outside of these established patterns is viewed suspiciously, which then triggers an alert to be sent to network administrators. In many instances, an APM solution is the first line of defense against malicious attacks and/or fraud attempts.
• Abnormal Requests – Let’s say that a financial institution has several applications in place. Throughout its monitoring history, the institution is able to determine the geographical area communications should be established. Since these parameters have been set, the institution can set up alerts to be sent if a request is made outside of a specific location, or if the request is sent at a particular time or is over a specific dollar amount. Once an “abnormal” request is identified, it can trigger the fraud alert. This element of protection is working hand-in-hand with established parameters to offer protection.
• Cross-References Information – Application performance management tools have come a long way in recent years. In fact, many solutions are able to be connected to public databases, such as credit bureaus, to determine if information gathered through the application is accurate. Integrating third party authorization and reference checks are ideal for financial institutions or other companies who handle sensitive personal information. Being able to automatically cross-reference information and monitoring application performance in real time are among the most effective ways of securing your site and preventing fraud.