Fraudsters move fast. To evade detection, they use incognito mode, change IP addresses, and deploy bots for credential stuffing attempts, just to name a few. 

To stop them, businesses need to be as fast — or faster. 

Introducing Velocity Signals

Velocity Signals sum key data points for a specific visitorID at three distinct intervals: 5 minutes, 1 hour, and 24 hours as follows: 

• Number of unique IP addresses linked to the visitorID
• Number of unique linkedIDs associated with the visitorID
• Number of unique countries associated with a visitorID
• Number of events attributed to the visitorID

{
  "velocity": {
    "data": {
      "distinctIP": {
        "intervals": {
          "5m": 1,
          "1h": 1,
          "24h": 5
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

How Velocity Signals enhance fraud detection

Monitoring these signals at short intervals helps identify patterns indicating potential threats or anomalies. This rapid detection mechanism aids businesses in making informed decisions quickly, reducing the risk of fraud by detecting:

• DoS attacks or credential stuffing: Monitor for unusually high volumes of events from a single IP address, which can indicate automated attack attempts.
• Account sharing: Recognize when multiple visitorIDs are linked to the same account or linkedID, suggesting unauthorized sharing.
• Impossible travel: Identify when a visitorID is associated with multiple countries within a short timeframe, indicating suspicious activity.
• Fraudulent transactions: Spot an unusually high number of events occurring over a short period.

By monitoring these signals, businesses can quickly identify and respond to potential threats, ensuring a more secure environment for their operations.

Getting started with Velocity Signals

All customers with access to our Smart Signals will automatically have the new signal, Velocity Signals. The new signal is available through Webhooks, Sealed Client Results, and the Server API at the existing Events endpoint as a new property, making it easy to integrate into your existing fraud prevention workflows.

Key takeaways

Businesses looking to enhance their fraud detection efforts should incorporate Velocity Signals into their decision-making processes when visitors interact with their sites.