Terrific overview of PayPal and its world-beating anti-fraud measures.

Igor has to not only move quickly but also be right. As it tested early versions of the software, PayPal was hit with a customer backlash when Igor got overzealous and prompted employees to inactivate many legitimate users, who were suddenly unable to send and receive money. When those users couldn’t get through to PayPal’s flooded customer service department, a spate of complaints to the San Jose, CA, Better Business Bureau followed, leading to a public-relations disaster. The company has since refined Igor to hone in on only the most suspicious behavior patterns, and it has staffed an Omaha, NE, call center with more than 400 customer service specialists and operations staff to handle inquiries and quickly unfreeze accounts when appropriate.

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