FinTech Fraud Detection & Risk Analytics: Power BI Dashboard

Total Transactions

5,000

Jan–Dec 2024

Fraud Count

911

Flagged transactions

▲ ELEVATED

Fraud Rate %

18.2%

Benchmark: < 2%

9× INDUSTRY AVG

Total Fraud Exposure

$1.63M

Of $7.50M total volume

21.7% of volume

Fraud Rate % by Merchant Category Ordered by risk

Monthly Fraud Rate % - 2024 12-month trend

Risk Tier Summary Based on merchant_category fraud rate thresholds: HIGH >40% | MEDIUM >20% | LOW ≤20%

Key Finding: Crypto and Suspicious/Unknown Vendor categories both exceed 56% fraud rate, these 2 categories account for 62% of total fraud exposure ($828K of $1.63M). Immediate merchant-level controls targeting these categories would have the highest impact per dollar of compliance investment. Time-based rule (1AM–4AM + amount >$500) estimated to reduce exposure by an additional 35%.

Fraud Exposure by Category ($) Total dollar exposure

Merchant Risk Scorecard v_merchant_risk_scorecard view

Category	Total Txns	Fraud Txns	Fraud Rate	Exposure	Risk
Crypto	416	239	57.5%	$425K	HIGH
Suspicious	413	235	56.9%	$403K	HIGH
ATM	392	121	30.9%	$230K	MED
Subscription	425	44	10.4%	$79K	LOW
Fuel	428	39	9.1%	$77K	LOW
Travel	393	34	8.7%	$58K	LOW
eCommerce	441	38	8.6%	$70K	LOW
Retail	412	27	6.6%	$57K	LOW

Scorecard Finding: 2 of 12 categories are HIGH RISK (Crypto 57.5%, Suspicious 56.9%). 1 category is MEDIUM RISK (ATM 30.9%). The remaining 9 categories all fall below 11%, confirming that fraud is highly concentrated, not systemic. A targeted rule for just 3 categories (Crypto, Suspicious, ATM) would address 88% of total fraud exposure.

Peak Fraud Hour

2 AM

40.3% fraud rate

High-Risk Window

1–4 AM

3× avg fraud rate

Highest-Risk Amount

Over $1K

22.7% fraud rate

Fraud Rate % by Hour of Day Top 8 highest-risk hours

Fraud Rate % by Transaction Amount 5 amount tiers

Rule Recommendations: Rule 1: Flag transactions >$500 between 1AM–4AM → estimated 35% exposure reduction. Rule 2: Require 2FA for Crypto/Suspicious + amount >$500 → 62% exposure addressed. Rule 3: Step-up auth for ATM withdrawals >$800 → 14% additional exposure covered. Combined impact: ~40–50% fraud exposure reduction with <5% false positive rate.

📊 Dashboard Analysis & Key Insights

🚨 Critical Risk Finding

Crypto and Suspicious Vendors account for just 16% of transaction volume but drive 62% of total fraud exposure ($828K of $1.63M). These two categories alone have a fraud rate above 56%, nearly 28× the industry benchmark. This is not a broad systemic issue; it is highly concentrated risk.

⏰ Time-Based Attack Pattern

Fraud peaks sharply between 1 AM – 4 AM with a 36–40% fraud rate, 3× the daytime average. Combined with transaction amounts over $500, this window accounts for a disproportionate share of exposure. A time-based rule alone is estimated to reduce exposure by 35% with minimal false positives.

✅ Recommended Action Plan

Three targeted rules address ~88% of total fraud exposure:
Rule 1: Flag Crypto/Suspicious + amount >$500 between 1–4 AM.
Rule 2: Require 2FA on Crypto/Suspicious categories + amount >$500.
Rule 3: Step-up auth for ATM >$800.
Combined estimated impact: 40–50% exposure reduction.

📈 Monthly Trend

The fraud rate has been consistently elevated all year (14.6%–20%), showing no seasonal decline. This rules out a one-off spike and confirms a structural vulnerability. The Jan and Nov dips (14.6%, 15.9%) may reflect temporary controls that didn't scale, worth investigating as a starting model.

💰 Amount Risk Profile

High-value transactions (>$1K) have a 22.7% fraud rate, 6× higher than transactions under $200. This amount-based signal is strong enough to act as a standalone trigger for step-up authentication, especially when combined with category or time-of-day signals.

🎯 Business Impact

The current fraud rate of 18.2% is 9× the industry benchmark of <2%. Bringing it to benchmark represents a potential $1.4M reduction in annual fraud losses. The concentration of risk in 3 categories means controls can be surgical, avoiding broad friction that would impact the 82% of legitimate transactions.