In this section, we examine the related literature on proposed systems and techniques for credit card fraud detection. The existing work in this field is categorised into three sections based on the technique used, i.e. Statistical methods, Machine Learning Algorithms and Deep Learning Techniques.
2.3. Machine Learning (ML) in Credit Card Fraud Detection
Due to the ability to learn from data, find complex patterns, and predict credit card theft, machine learning algorithms are important in credit card fraud detection. These algorithms are supervised and unsupervised learning methods. A few of the algorithms used for CCFD (Credit Card Fraud Detection) include Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machines (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Naive Bayes (NB), Decision Trees (DT), Random Forest (RF) and Tree-Augmented Naive Bayes (TAN).
For credit card fraud detection, SVM, KNN, NB, DT, RF, and TAN are powerful machine learning models. SVM classifies data points using the best hyperplane [
7], KNN classifies transactions based on their K-Nearest Neighbors [
8], NB uses probabilistic learning to estimate class probabilities [
9], DT generates decision trees for feature-based classification [
9], RF combines decision trees to reduce overfitting [
10], and TAN enhances NB with a tree-like dependency structure to capture feature correlations [
11]. These models offer diverse approaches to identifying and preventing fraudulent transactions, contributing to robust fraud detection systems. Credit card fraud detection algorithms have pros and downsides. When choosing an algorithm for an application, consider dataset size, feature space, processing needs, interpretability, and fraud.
Several researchers have highlighted the route to improved fraud prevention and detection in this comprehensive analysis of credit card fraud detection with machine learning. In [
16], Prasad Chowdary et al. propose an ensemble technique to improve credit card fraud detection. The authors focus on optimising model parameters, improving performance measures, and integrating deep learning to fix identification errors and reduce false negatives. Decision Tree (DT), Gradient Boosting Classifier (XGBoost), Logistic Regression (LR), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine were used in this paper. The paper compares these algorithms across multiple evaluation metrics and finds that DT performs best with a 100% recall value, followed by XGBoost, LR, RF, and SVM with 85%, 74.49%, 75.9%, and 69%, respectively. By combining multiple classifier ensembles and rigorously assessing their performance, this project greatly improves CCFD system efficiency. However, the evaluation parameters reveal the low performance of the model.
Sahithi, Roshmi et al., in [
17], developed a credit card fraud detection algorithm in 2022. This model uses a Weighted Average Ensemble to combine Logistic Regression (LR), Random Forest (RF), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Adaboost, and Bagging. The paper used the European Credit Card Company dataset. Their model had 99% accuracy, topping base models like RF Bagging (98.91%), LR (98.90%), Adaboost (97.91%), KNN (97.81%), and Bagging (95.37%). This paper shows that their ensemble model can detect credit card theft in this key domain. Nevertheless, the feature selection process was not provided, which hinders reproducibility.
Also, in 2022, Qaddoura and Biltawi [
18] investigated the effectiveness of oversampling methods: SMOTE, ADASYN, borderline1, borderline2, and SVM oversampling algorithms for credit card fraud detection. The paper used Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), Naive Bayes (NB), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Decision Tree. The authors found that oversampling can improve model performance, although the exact strategy depends on the machine learning algorithm. However, the applicability of the model in real-life situations can be affected due to the computational overhead.
Tanouz et al. [
19] extensively studied machine learning for credit card fraud classification. The Decision Trees classifier, Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), and Naive Bayes (NB) were evaluated, with a focus on imbalanced datasets. This investigation showed that the Random Forest (RF) approach performed well, scoring 96.77%. Logistic Regression (LR), Naive Bayes (NB), and Decision Trees classifiers had accuracy scores of 95.16, 95.16, and 91.12%, respectively. The detailed investigation shows that Random Forest is effective at credit card fraud detection, which is vital to financial security. Nonetheless, the performance of the proposed models is hampered due to the lack of feature selection.
The fundamental objective of the study in [
20] undertaken by Ruttala Sailusha and colleagues was to provide a comparative examination of the Random Forest and AdaBoost algorithms in the context of credit card fraud detection. The findings of their analysis demonstrated similar levels of accuracy when comparing the two algorithms. It is worth mentioning that the Random Forest method demonstrated higher performance in terms of precision, recall, and F1-score when compared to Adaboost. However, the dataset used by the authors is skewed, with no clear mention of how the issue was addressed.
The primary objective of the research performed by Sadgali, Sael, and Benabbou [
21] was to identify the most effective approaches for detecting financial fraud. The methodology employed in their paper involved the utilisation of a wide range of techniques, such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Bayesian Belief Networks, Naive Bayes, Genetic Algorithm, Multilayer Feed Forward Neural Network (MLFF), and Classification and Regression Tree (CART). Significantly, as a comprehensive and evaluative investigation of previous scholarly studies, the present paper did not necessitate the use of a particular dataset for analysis. The presented results highlight the dominant performance of Naive Bayes, which achieved the greatest accuracy rate of 99.02%. SVM closely followed it with an accuracy rate of 98.8% and Genetic Algorithm with an accuracy rate of 95%. Despite that, the authors limit their work to insurance fraud.
The study conducted by Raghavan and El Gayar [
22] aimed to detect anomalies or fraudulent actions using data mining techniques. They utilised three distinct datasets from Australia (AU), Germany, and the European (EU) to achieve this objective. Their work employed Support Vector Machine (SVM), K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), and Random Forest algorithms, in addition to creating two separate ensembles: one integrating KNN, SVM, and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and another combining KNN, SVM, and Random Forest. The findings highlight the dominant performance of the Support Vector Machine (SVM) in terms of accuracy, achieving a notable rate of 68.57%. In comparison, Random Forest and KNN exhibited accuracies of 64.37% and 60.47% respectively. The present paper offers a comprehensive examination that yields useful information regarding the effectiveness of various algorithms and ensemble tactics within the domain of fraud detection. However, the performance of the model was low for all the datasets used.
Saputra and Suharjito [
23] compare the effectiveness of Decision Tree, Naïve Bayes, Random Forest, and Neural Network machine learning approaches. SMOTE was used to solve the problems of imbalanced datasets. Kaggle provided this study's dataset. At 0.093% of records, the dataset included few fraudulent transactions. The examination using confusion matrices revealed that the Neural Network had the highest accuracy (96%), followed by Random Forest (95%), Naïve Bayes (95%), and Decision Tree (91%). SMOTE enhanced the average F1-Score and G-Score performance measures and addressed skewed data, proving its benefits. However, the dataset used in the paper does not fully represent all the e-commerce platforms.
A comparative analysis of credit card fraud detection methods was conducted by Tiwari et al. [
24]. The authors examined SVM, ANN, Bayesian Network, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Hidden Markov Model, Fuzzy Logic-Based System, and Decision Trees. Analysis of the KDD dataset from the standard KDD CUP 99 Intrusion Dataset showed differing accuracy levels across approaches. SVM had 94.65% accuracy, ANN 99.71%, Bayesian 97.52%, K-Nearest Neighbors 97.15%, Hidden Markov Model (HMM) 95.2%, Fuzzy Logic-Based System 97.93%, and Decision Trees 94.7%. This extensive assessment sheds light on numerous credit card fraud detection methods. However, the dataset does not fully depict financial activities.
Naik and Kanikar [
25] evaluate and compare some machine learning algorithms, including Naïve Bayes, J48, Logistic Regression, and AdaBoost, in the domain of Credit Card Fraud Detection (CCFD). Their approach utilises an online dataset consisting of 1000 items that contain both fraudulent and non-fraudulent transactions. The results indicate high levels of accuracy, with Logistic Regression and AdaBoost having a perfect accuracy rate of 100%. Naïve Bayes and J48 also display noteworthy accuracies of 83% and 69.93%, respectively. The findings above highlight the diverse skills of different algorithms in tackling the complexities associated with credit card fraud detection situations, providing useful insights for the advancement of resilient fraud detection systems. Nevertheless, the dataset used by the authors was limited to 1000 credit card transaction records, which is not typical of the credit card user population.
Table 1 presents a summary of ensemble machine learning models used for credit card fraud detection.