TransUnion Thursday announced that it has acquired Trustev, a global provider of digital verification technology to multiple industries, in a deal worth $21 million at the time of the closing, according to a press release. 

TransUnion could pay up to an additional $23 million contingent on Trustev achieving specified retention, revenue and EBITDA targets through 2018, according to the announcement.

"As fraud grows in volume and sophistication, TransUnion continues to invest in building our global capabilities to help companies manage their risk," Jim Peck, TransUnion president and CEO, said in a statement. "Holistic information is a powerful tool to help our customers approve good transactions and prevent fraud, and Trustev's innovative capabilities are at the forefront of technology in this increasingly critical field."

TransUnion said in the announcement that  Trustev’s technology evaluates online transactions in real time with machine learning, enabling customers to stop fraud and authorize legitimate purchases. TransUnion had already integrated Trustev technology into its ID Manager product and claims that customers have experienced up to a 60 percent decrease in fraud losses while boosting approvals.

"Together, TransUnion and Trustev create a very powerful combination of software intelligence and rich data to stop online fraud," Pat Phelan, co-founder and CEO of Trustev, said in a statement. "We will be able to help companies across many industries better spot bad actors online, and block their efforts, while letting good customers through."