FICO Data Analysis Shows Counterfeit Card Fraud Has Fallen Sharply in Europe

LONDON, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE: FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today released its analysis of data showing that major shifts have occurred in European card fraud patterns. Analysis done on 55 million active credit cards represented in the FICO® Falcon® Fraud Consortium for Europe showed that counterfeit fraud fell 60 percent between March 2009 and March 2011.

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FICO's data also shows that card-not-present fraud accounted for 69% of all accounts victimized by fraud and 72% of all fraud losses. The top 10 merchant categories accounted for 30% of the total fraud losses, led by hotels/lodging, travel agencies and ATMs.

"Our analysis of the data shines a spotlight on the tremendous change that has occurred in Europe's fraud landscape," said Martin Warwick, FICO's Fraud Chief in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Chip and PIN technology has radically driven down counterfeit and other forms of 'card present' fraud in the UK, which just three years ago accounted for some 60% of Europe's credit card fraud. In response, criminals are operating across borders, targeting countries such as Germany that have weaker detection and prevention capabilities, and shifting their attention to card-not-present schemes such as online fraud."

"It's worth noting that in the two-year period, only about 1 percent of cards we studied were affected by fraud," Warwick added. "That speaks very well of the effectiveness of FICO Falcon Fraud Manager, the most widely used credit card fraud solution in Europe and the rest of the world. FICO Falcon Fraud Manager plays a massive role in allowing banks to balance powerful fraud protection with a positive customer experience at the point of sale — for example, it helped UK issuers reduce card-not-present fraud by pounds Sterling 100 million between 2008 and 2010."

FICO's data comes from card issuers in Germany, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey. FICO analyzed this data to develop the UK & Ireland Credit version 13 and European Union Credit version 5 analytic models for FICO® Falcon® Fraud Manager. These models are now available for FICO clients in the region, and show a marked increase in predictive power compared to previous models — the amount of fraud detected at a false-positive ratio of 10:1 increased by 56 percent for the UK/Ireland models, and 24 percent for the Europe models. FICO Falcon Fraud Manager is the world's leading card fraud management system, protecting more than 2 billion payment cards worldwide.

About FICO

FICO (NYSE:FICO), formerly known as Fair Isaac, delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company's groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO's innovative solutions include the industry-leading solutions for measuring credit risk, managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world's top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count™.

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Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

FICO, Falcon and "Make every decision count" are trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and other countries.

SOURCE FICO