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Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud happens when victims are tricked into transferring money to fraudsters, believing they’re sending funds to legitimate accounts. Unlike traditional fraud, APP scams rely on social engineering, not stolen credentials.
Victims often receive convincing messages or calls from what looks like a trusted source — a bank, government agency, or even a loved one. The result? People voluntarily authorize payments to the scammer’s account.
APP fraud is one of the fastest-growing financial crimes worldwide. In 2024 alone, global losses surpassed $5 billion, with the UK and EU leading in reported incidents. What makes it so damaging is that banks traditionally find it hard to refund victims — since the transaction was technically “authorized.”
Even advanced transaction monitoring often fails, because the payment looks legitimate on the surface. The real red flags lie in the user’s behavior, not the transaction data.
This is where modern prevention strategies come in. Instead of analyzing transactions after the fact, behavioral intelligence tools - like Vara Security’s VVRI model (Victim Vulnerability Risk Index) - detect behavioral anomalies in real time.
For example:
By combining AI-driven behavioral signals with contextual data, financial institutions can identify when a customer is under manipulation - before the money leaves their account.
As regulators enforce reimbursement mandates (like the UK’s APP Fraud Reimbursement Standard effective 2025), banks are under pressure to prove proactive measures. Prevention is no longer optional — it’s a regulatory necessity.
At Vara Security, we help banks and fintechs move from post-fraud investigation to live protection, using AI to understand how real victims behave under scam influence.
Vara Security helps financial institutions detect and prevent real-time social engineering scams before transactions occur.
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