Velocity checking is the process of analyzing your transaction data to see how frequently certain data points recur. This allows you to recognize patterns of normal user behavior, and deviations from those patterns may indicate fraud.

Here’s an example: velocity checking might flag an instance of a single customer submitting multiple orders within a single day. While that may not be unusual customer behavior for some merchants, it’s also a common sign of fraud.

Velocity checks are designed to scan the information submitted with each transaction and flag repeated submissions of the same information in a designated time period. This allows you to segment out suspicious transactions, identifying cases in which a fraudster might be engaged in card testing, or trying to run multiple transactions with a valid card number.

Most well-known fraud management providers will offer velocity checks as a fraud management tool.

When a fraudster gets a hold of a stolen payment card that works, the race is on to run up as many charges on it as possible before it gets maxed out or reported. As clever as cyber-criminals can be, this predictable greedy behavior will often cause them to reveal themselves to detection methods such as velocity checking.