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Fraud Detection:What is Fraud Detection?

Last Updated:Mar 31, 2026

Fraud Detection is a smart, lightweight, and mature risk control service from Alibaba Cloud, built on more than 10 years of risk control experience from Alibaba Cloud, Taobao, and Alipay.

Fraud Detection launched in 2018 and offers three types of risk control capabilities: a model as a service (MaaS) option for fast API-based integration, a software as a service (SaaS) decision engine for teams that want to build and manage custom risk control workflows, and on-device security components (SDK and JavaScript) for client-side attack detection.

Business risks it addresses

As internet services expand into more industries, fraud attacks have become common across four scenarios:

ScenarioCommon risks
Account registrationBulk account creation using illegal or false information
LogonAccount takeover, fund theft, unauthorized profile changes
MarketingBots and fake accounts exploiting reward points redemption, coupons, and flash sales
Financial servicesFraud in consumer loans, business loans, and auto finance

Solutions

Fraud Detection provides three types of risk control capabilities. The table below summarizes when to use each:

SolutionBest forIntegration effort
MaaS-based risk identification modelTeams that want immediate fraud detection via API, no custom model trainingLow — call the API directly
SaaS-based decision engineTeams that need custom risk control workflows and full operational controlMedium — configure rules and modes in a visual platform
On-device security componentsApplications that need client-side attack and device anomaly detectionMedium — integrate SDK or JavaScript component

MaaS-based risk identification model

A pre-trained decision-making AI model with pre-defined rich data features, ready to use via API. Covers common scenarios including account registration, logon, marketing, and credit applications. It provides ease of use, stable performance, and all-in-one processing — call the Fraud Detection API to get risk decisions immediately.

SaaS-based decision engine

A visual risk management platform where your team builds and operates custom risk control workflows. Use it alongside Alibaba Cloud's pre-defined risk control modes, or configure your own rules. For details, see Overview of the decision engine.

On-device security components

SDKs for Android and iOS, plus a JavaScript component, that run on the client side to detect attacks, device anomalies, and simulators. Helps identify malware and block malicious devices before they reach your backend. For details, see Service event parameters and response parameters for Device Fraud Detection.

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