Securing Your Account: The Hidden Power of Account Age

The importance of security cannot be overstated in the changing realm of payments. One crucial aspect of protecting against account takeovers is the account age. This article will explore the advantages of having an established account. How it serves as a defense mechanism benefiting both institutions and their customers.

Understanding The Account Age

In terms of account age refers to the length of time a user has held an account with an online service, platform, bank, or merchant. It is measured from the day the account was initially created.

Why Do Fraudsters Target Older Accounts?

Fraudsters often target accounts, for two reasons; potential higher value and access to a wealth of information. An account that was opened a couple of days ago is less likely to have funds compared to one that has been active for several years.

Moreover, older accounts tend to have risk control measures in place. Newer accounts are typically prioritized by risk controls due to their vulnerability. Consequently, suspicious activities originating from standing accounts have a chance of going unnoticed.

Using Account Age Against Account Takeovers

Account age plays a role in combating account takeovers and fraudulent activities. By considering the duration for which an account has been active institutions can implement strategies, for protection.
There are ways, in which it can be beneficial to us;

1. Identifying Behavior Anomalies; When there are patterns having access to older account data allows us to better analyze user activity. This makes it easier for us to detect unexpected behaviors that may indicate a hijacking of an account.
2. Reducing False Positives; Given that fraudsters target accounts with tenure for account takeover (ATO) we can leverage this information in our ATO prevention strategies. By doing we can enhance precision. Minimize the occurrence of false positives.

Account age plays a role in ATO prevention by providing the advantages of well-established user behavior patterns, and a reputable account history. These attributes, when taken into consideration with other signals (like the velocity control) can help us build a pretty good defense against the ATO fraud attacks.