- Fraud tools side by side
- Eleven fraud detection tools to compare
- Order screening, account protection or financial crime?
- The UK offence of failing to prevent fraud
- Questions to ask before you choose
- Signs fraud is costing you more than you think
- My plain advice on choosing fraud software
- Frequently asked questions
The best fraud detection software depends on where fraud hits you: ecommerce fraud tools suit online shops fighting chargebacks, financial crime platforms suit banks and fintechs, and device intelligence APIs suit developers stopping fake accounts and bots. Eleven options follow in no particular order.
Fraud detection software scores each order, sign-up or login for risk and decides whether to approve it, block it or ask for more checks. The goal is two-sided: stop fraudsters without turning away good customers.
The eleven tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order. Every description comes from the vendor's own site, read this week. If you're still mapping the threats, my guide to types of ecommerce fraud and how to prevent them is a good starting point.
Fraud tools side by side
In the free plan column, Yes means the tool's own site names a free plan, a free version, a free tool or an open source edition. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to try it.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClearSale | Ecommerce fraud and chargeback protection | Online shops worried about chargebacks | Not stated |
| Featurespace | Fraud and financial crime management | Banks and payment providers | Not stated |
| Feedzai | Fraud and financial crime platform | Financial crime across the customer lifecycle | Not stated |
| Fingerprint | Device intelligence API | Spotting repeat abusers and bots | Not stated |
| Ravelin | Anti-fraud and payments technology | Retail, travel and digital goods | Not stated |
| Riskified | Ecommerce fraud prevention | Large ecommerce brands | Not stated |
| SEON | Fraud prevention and AML platform | Fintech, gaming and lending | Not stated |
| Sift | Fraud prevention for digital business | Digital platforms and creator sites | Not stated |
| Signifyd | Commerce protection platform | Approving more good orders | Not stated |
| Stripe Radar | Fraud detection built into Stripe | Businesses already taking payments on Stripe | Not stated |
| Wyllo | Ecommerce risk intelligence (formerly NoFraud) | Shopify-style stores wanting fraud screening | Trial only |
Eleven fraud detection tools to compare
ClearSale
Best for: Online retailers that want fraud prevention and chargeback protection with people reviewing tricky orders.
Featurespace
Best for: Banks and payment companies that want fraud and financial crime management built for transaction monitoring.
Feedzai
Best for: Financial institutions that want fraud and financial crime covered from account opening to everyday transactions.
Fingerprint
Best for: Developers who want to identify returning visitors and devices, even anonymous ones, to stop bots and account abuse.
Ravelin
Best for: Merchants in retail, travel, ticketing and digital goods that want fraud defences tuned to high-volume online sales.
Riskified
Best for: Larger ecommerce brands that want fraud prevention, chargeback disputes and account protection from one specialist.
SEON
Best for: Fintechs, lenders and betting firms that want fraud prevention and AML compliance checks in one platform.
Sift
Best for: Digital businesses and creator platforms that want fraud stopped across sign-ups, logins and payments.
Signifyd
Best for: Online merchants that want decisions across the whole customer journey, from first click to final return.
Stripe Radar
Best for: Businesses already using Stripe for payments that want AI fraud checks built into the same account.
Wyllo
Best for: Ecommerce stores that want fraud screening, bot and reseller detection and return abuse checks, with a free two-week trial.
Order screening, account protection or financial crime?
Order screening tools check each online purchase and often offer chargeback protection. Account protection tools focus on fake sign-ups, account takeovers, promo abuse and bots. Financial crime platforms watch transactions for fraud and money laundering across a bank or fintech's customers.
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Shops usually need order screening first. Apps with free trials, referral schemes or user content need account protection. Regulated financial firms need financial crime tools that also support their compliance duties.
The UK offence of failing to prevent fraud
The Home Office guidance says a large organisation will be criminally liable where an associated person commits a specified fraud offence for the organisation's benefit and the organisation didn't have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. It doesn't need to be shown that managers ordered or knew about the fraud.
Most fraud tools focus on fraud against you, by customers or criminals. This offence is about fraud by people acting for you. If you're a large UK organisation, ask vendors which parts of their product help evidence prevention procedures, and don't assume a checkout fraud tool covers it.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Where do we lose most to fraud: orders, accounts, refunds or payments?
- Can we see why a transaction was flagged?
- How many good customers does it block by mistake?
- Does it offer chargeback protection or dispute help?
- Can rules be tuned by our team without code?
- Does it plug into our payment provider and store platform?
Signs fraud is costing you more than you think
- Chargebacks keep rising. Disputes eat time and margins.
- Someone reviews orders by hand every day. It doesn't scale.
- Promo codes vanish fast. Bots and resellers may be abusing them.
- New accounts look oddly similar. Fake sign-ups are common.
Do you make fraud detection software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing fraud software
Measure before you buy. Know your chargeback rate, your refund abuse and how many orders you review by hand, so you can tell whether a tool helps. Then run it in a shadow mode, scoring without blocking, and compare its decisions with what happened.
Watch the good customers you turn away, not just the fraud you stop. A tool that blocks too much hurts sales quietly. For a plain-English primer you can share with your team, see how online fraud works.
Frequently asked questions
What is fraud detection software?
It's software that scores transactions, sign-ups and logins for fraud risk and approves, blocks or flags them for review.
How does fraud detection software work?
Most tools combine rules with machine learning, using signals such as device, location, behaviour and history across many businesses.
What is chargeback protection?
Some tools take on the loss if an order they approved turns out to be fraud and the customer's bank reverses the payment.
Can fraud tools block real customers?
Yes. That's why it's worth measuring false declines and tuning rules over time.
Do small online shops need fraud software?
Your payment provider may include basic screening. Dedicated tools help once fraud or chargebacks become a regular problem.
Are there free fraud detection tools?
Some tools in the table offer a free trial on their own site. Check the free plan column for each one.
What is a false decline?
It's a good order or customer wrongly blocked as fraud. It's easy to miss because the customer usually just leaves.
