Combines dark web intelligence with real-time authorization to prevent fraud before it occurs

St. Petersburg, Fla. - (Nov. 6, 2018) - PSCU - the nation's premier payments CUSO - has announced another tool in its fraud-fighting arsenal with the addition of First Data's FirstSense ä . By leveraging threat intelligence and analytics garnered from the dark web, FirstSense enables PSCU Owners to identify at-risk payment cards and prevent fraud before it happens.

FirstSense employs a variety of proprietary data collection methods and advanced analytical tools to identify accounts at risk throughout the fraud lifecycle. Integrated with First Data's DefenseEdgeTM fraud decisioning solution, FirstSense enables financial institutions to use indicators of risk exposure to create rules and strategies that allow institutions the ability to prevent potential fraudulent transactions in real time.

"As new strains of fraud constantly emerge, PSCU continually makes strategic investments in innovative tools to address multiple channels, including the dark web, which is now nearly a $100 billion industry," said Jack Lynch, Chief Risk Officer at PSCU. "The addition of FirstSense will allow us to be even more proactive and aggressive in surveilling and blocking fraud, ultimately enabling a better member experience for our Owners and subsequently a more seamless experience for their members."

Initially introduced in 2016, FirstSense has been successfully providing measurable reductions in payment card fraud losses for two years, along with a significant reduction of false positives in fraud decisions. Year to date, FirstSense has been first to alert the merchant of significant nationwide breaches affecting 17.5 million payment cards. FirstSense was credited by federal law enforcement for providing key intelligence related to two national breaches that led to the arrest of leaders of the FIN7 cybercriminal group, also known as the Carbanak Group, earlier this year.

"First Data is proud to partner with PSCU, providing an unparalleled line of defense that keeps member data safe and secure with FirstSense," said EJ Jackson, Senior Vice President, Head of Security and Fraud Solutions at First Data. "With fraudsters across the dark web becoming more sophisticated and successful in their attacks, it is critical for credit unions to have a proactive strategy for fraud mitigation. The best way to combat fraud is to prevent it before it even occurs."

PSCU recently announced the addition of Linked Analysis to its comprehensive set of integrated fraud offerings. Linked Analysis enables PSCU to look at the connection between unrelated accounts in an effort to identify fraud before it occurs. The company has seen an exponential month-to-month increase in fraud blocked since it launched Linked Analysis in April. As a result of best-in-class fraud offerings like Linked Analysis and FirstSense, PSCU continues to lead the industry with high fraud recovery rates and the lowest fraud loss-to-sales ratios. Over the last year, PSCU's proactive fraud prevention technologies, processes and policies have prevented more than $200 million in fraudulent transactions, with an overall industry-leading fraud loss to sales ratio of 4.31 basis points.