International Law

Visa proposes to use location info to prevent fraud

I usually am not a fan of being profiled and data mined by companies without my knowledge, but there is one clear exception: I am delighted my bank takes such an interest in who I am and what I buy to prevent fraud. Loyal readers my recall my experience with having my debit card cloned, which was detected because my bank knows that I am not in the habit of withdrawing a few hundred dollars from my bank account at ATMs located in strip clubs.

Now, Visa is apparently interested in looking for corroboration from customers' cell phones to figure out whether purchases are legit. The logic is that if you are making a purchase where the card is allegedly present, your mobile phone is likely nearby. I would gladly opt in to this.

Check out the details from Fast Company:

Visa to Use Your Phone's Location to Prevent Credit Card Fraud | Fast Company.

Sure, you like all the great benefits of having your phone know where you are. Looking up directions or local weather information becomes that much faster. But outside companies and agencies are equally delighted to have access to your location information--and not just to send you coupons. Increasingly, they?re going to be using that information for purposes that have nothing to do with your convenience and fancy.

Some of those purposes you?ll like. Others you might not be so keen about. One you?ll probably be okay with was just announced by Visa Europe. The credit card company is going to start using information about the location of customers? mobile phones to prevent credit card fraud.

Visa Europe has partnered with a company called ValidSoft that can establish whether your mobile phone is in the same place as the merchant or ATM where your card is being used. The assumption is that if the two devices are in close proximity, it?s probably you using the card, even if you?re far afield from your usual stomping grounds. If the two devices are not in the same place, the system may send up an alert.

Proximity information will only be one of a number of variables the system will use to assess the likelihood of fraud during any particular transaction. The companies say the system will both reduce card misuse and cut down on the number of ?false positives.? That, they say, will create a better experience for users when a particular purchase deviates from their expected patterns--no more annoying calls or locking your card up when you're simply on vacation--and it will cut down on case-management processing costs for card issuers.

Earlier this year, Gartner issued a report predicting that by 2015, at least 15% of payment card transactions will be validated using mobile location information. ?Visa Europe?s move is the start of this trend,? author Avivah Litan wrote on the Gartner blog. ?These services have great value when it comes to protecting payment accounts and preventing fraud,? she wrote. ?Many more banks and card companies will adopt them once they see the value.?

Full post as published by The Canadian Privacy Law Blog on November 30, 2010 (boomark / email).