A Fraud Detection Visualization System Utilizing Radial Drawings and Heat-maps

Abstract: We present a prototype system developed in cooperation with a business organization that combines information visualization and pattern-matching techniques to detect fraudulent activity by employees. The system is built upon common fraud patterns searched while trying to detect occupational fraud suggested by internal auditors of a business company. The main visualization of the system consists of a multi-layer radial drawing that represents the activity of the employees and clients. Each layer represents a different examined pattern whereas heat-maps indicating suspicious activity are incorporated in the visualization. The data are first preprocessed based on a decision tree generated by the examined patterns and each employee is assigned a value indicating whether or not there exist indications of fraud. The visualization is presented as an animation and the employees are visualized one by one according to their severity values together with their related clients.