ATLANTA – Aurum Technology used the BAI Retail Delivery Conference & Expo as the backdrop for the company's announcement of its new integrated Check Fraud and Risk Mitigation Suite. Using the latest digital imaging capabilities, Aurum says the suite of products can increase security and give financial institutions the tools needed to proactively detect and avoid common fraud caused by forgeries, identity theft and counterfeiting of checks, deposits, and other high-risk paper transactions. New to Aurum's Fraud and Risk Mitigation Suite are Fraud Filters, Automated Signature Verification and Web-based Positive Pay. With Fraud Filters, financial institutions can build an interface between their image archive, core processing system and fraud detection system. Fraud Filters take the transaction image and data through automated, customizable tests that look at the checking account holder's writing patterns. The product also has the capability to track checking account holders' spending patterns, and it can catch suspect items that might otherwise be under a specified dollar amount. The feature gives financials the ability to look for trends over weeks and months and easily access online, real-time transaction data for proactive analysis, thus reducing the amount of time needed to locate, retrieve and review suspected fraudulent items. The Automated Signature Verification solution eliminates the need for signature cards in the exception review process by comparing more than 100 signature characteristics based on mathematical values drawn from the archived transaction images. The solution integrates the image archive with the signature verification process so a financial's employees have access to signature samples via the Web for faster, mor efficient and thorough signature verification. Commenting on the growth in check fraud that he said has "reached epidemic proportions, leaving no individual, company or municipality immune," Frank Abagnale, a recognized industry expert on financial fraud prevention said, "Because recent revisions in the Uniform Commercial Code impose liability for check fraud losses on both the bank and its customer, it is in everyone's interest to help prevent losses." In his recently published book, "The Art of the Steal," Abagnale cited U.S. losses from check fraud last year were more than $19 billion. Aurum Technology processes more than one billion items annually – over half of which are image based – for more than 400 financial institutions. – [email protected]