On March 16th, we invited senior risk and product executives from some of Thailand’s fastest-growing mobile apps to a virtual roundtable. Participants discussed fraud prevention best practices and the future of mobile app fraud prevention in Thailand. Guests included executives from Eatigo, Central Group, True Digital Group, and more.
To kick-start the conversation, participants spoke about issues on the ownership of fraud prevention. Does it fall to the risk team or the product team? Participants echoed the sentiment that fraud prevention is a joint responsibility and stakeholders from different departments have to be involved from time to time, and also discussed whether it was worth having a team dedicated to stopping fraud. An executive from a retail app added that they believed having a third-party security auditing team was also essential for an unbiased opinion.
Participants also discussed the problems they faced when it came to flagging behavior that seemed suspicious, but was in fact genuine. One such example was chargebacks and returns; knowing the difference between a genuine delivery failure and a fraudulent claim is not easy.
Then there is the challenge of timing in terms of when they should begin to implement fraud prevention measures.
Conversation then steered towards the best practices for fraud prevention. Participants had differing views. One executive believed that buying fraud prevention technology was an effective strategy for fraud prevention. Another felt that buying wasn’t necessary, and having an internal team was more effective in the fight against fraud.
Discussion also centered around best practices for new, small businesses. Participants agreed that outsourcing was better for these types of companies since budgets were often tight and they could also benefit from external expertise. Another executive suggested buying separate components from different companies to build up a fraud detection stack. By doing so, the solution could be customized to the product specifically.
To end off the discussion, participants shared their thoughts on the future of mobile app fraud prevention in Thailand. Many agreed that an increase in public awareness is vital. Several mobile users are unaware of the dangers of sharing personal and account information, making awareness campaigns a necessity. Executives also spoke about how changing law enforcement and regulations such as the PDPA may change the way fraud is conducted and handled. And how machine learning and AI is the future to detect and prevent fraud.
The conversation ended with one executive pointing out that internet usage in Thailand and Southeast Asia is very high. Unfortunately this increases exposure to data breaches and fraud. Therefore, fraud prevention must be a top priority for businesses, especially considering mobile apps are rapidly becoming a battleground for fraudsters. In the fight against fraud, it is essential for organizations to equip themselves with the right attitude, technology, and fraud teams.
