Fraud deterrence for secure transactions

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, configure one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

• monitoring active system processes using a fraud prevention application to detect instances of at least one other application being executed by the one or more processors;
• logging, using the fraud prevention application, any detected activity indicating execution of the other application;
• checking, using the fraud prevention application, a system registry to determine whether an instance of the other application exists in the system registry;
• determining, using the fraud prevention application, whether a folder has been created in memory that includes the instance of the other application, based at least in part on a default installation path for the other application;
• based on at least one of the monitoring and logging, or presence of the instance in at least one of the registry or the folder, determining that a software product, for which payment has not been made, has been installed on a client-side computer that includes the one or more processors, the registry, the memory, the fraud prevention application and the other application;
• reporting, to a server remote from the client-side computer, any evidence of usage and installation indicated by the monitoring, logging, and presences of the other application in either or both of the registry or folder;
• continuing the monitoring, logging, checking and determining if the folder has been created following reporting, and continuing the reporting at at least predetermined intervals;
• receiving indication at the fraud prevention application that the payment has been made;
• and
• ceasing the monitoring, logging, checking and determining responsive to the payment being made.