A system and method for detecting fraud when facilitating a payment
transaction over a global wide area network. The method comprises
receiving a sale information, receiving a payment information from a
buyer, and analyzing a transaction information for fraud. If the
analyzing indicates fraud, an enhanced transaction information is
communicated to a human for fraud analysis. In one embodiment, the method
comprises performing rule-based analyses to determine whether the
transaction appears to be fraudulent. Rule-based analyses may include
suspect data rules and velocity rules. Velocity rules generally determine
whether there has been excessive activity that may lead to a conclusion
that the transaction may be fraudulent. Suspect data rules are used to
determine whether the billing, shipping, selling addresses, telephone
numbers, and account numbers, and other data are in a syntactically
correct format and whether they exist. In one embodiment, the method
further comprises performing simple screening of the transaction
information. In one embodiment, the method further comprises seeking
approval from a third party such as a financial institution based on the
payment information. The method may be implemented as part of a system
that includes personal computers, server computers, and other personal
computing devices, some of which may communicate over the Internet, and
others which may communicate via dedicated communication lines.