Detecting Credit Card Fraud via Heterogeneous Graph Neural Networks with Graph Attention

Abstract: This study proposes a credit card fraud detection method based on Heterogeneous Graph Neural Network (HGNN) to address fraud in complex transaction networks. Unlike traditional machine learning methods that rely solely on numerical features of transaction records, this approach constructs heterogeneous transaction graphs. These graphs incorporate multiple node types, including users, merchants, and transactions. By leveraging graph neural networks, the model captures higher-order transaction relationships. A Graph Attention Mechanism is employed to dynamically assign weights to different transaction relationships. Additionally, a Temporal Decay Mechanism is integrated to enhance the model's sensitivity to time-related fraud patterns. To address the scarcity of fraudulent transaction samples, this study applies SMOTE oversampling and Cost-sensitive Learning. These techniques strengthen the model's ability to identify fraudulent transactions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing GNN models, including GCN, GAT, and GraphSAGE, on the IEEE-CIS Fraud Detection dataset. The model achieves notable improvements in both accuracy and OC-ROC. Future research may explore the integration of dynamic graph neural networks and reinforcement learning. Such advancements could enhance the real-time adaptability of fraud detection systems and provide more intelligent solutions for financial risk control.