Fraud & Identity Management

Today’s digital-first world is more interconnected than ever. Financial transactions take place across borders and through various channels, leaving financial institutions and their customers at increasing risk from evolving threats like identity theft, fraud and others from sophisticated crime rings. And consumers are feeling that pressure. A recent Experian study found that over half of consumers feel like they are more of a target for online fraud than a year ago. Likewise, more than 40% of businesses reported increased fraud losses in recent years. It’s not only critical that organizations ensure the security and trustworthiness of digital transactions and online account activity to reduce risk and losses but what consumers expect. In the same Experian study, more than 85% of consumers said they expect businesses to respond to their fraud concerns, an expectation that has increased over the last several years.   Businesses and financial institutions most successful at mitigating fraud and reducing risk have adopted a layered, interconnected approach to identity confirmation and fraud prevention. One vital tool in this process is identity document verification. This crucial step not only safeguards the integrity of financial systems but also protects individuals and organizations from fraud, money laundering and other illicit activities. In this blog, we will delve into the significance of identity document verification in financial services and explore how it strengthens the overall security landscape.  Preventing identity theft and fraud Identity document verification plays a vital role in thwarting identity theft and fraudulent activities. By verifying the authenticity of identification documents, financial institutions can ensure that the individuals accessing their services are who they claim to be. Sophisticated verification processes, including biometric identification and document validation, help detect counterfeit documents, stolen identities and impersonation attempts. By mitigating these risks, financial institutions can protect their customers from unauthorized access to accounts, fraudulent transactions and potential financial ruin. Compliance with regulatory requirements Financial institutions operate in an environment governed by stringent regulatory frameworks designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes. Identity document verification is a key component of these regulatory requirements. By conducting thorough verification checks, financial service providers can adhere to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. Compliance safeguards the institution's reputation and helps combat illicit financial activities that can have far-reaching consequences for national security and stability. Mitigating risk and enhancing trust Effective identity document verification mitigates risks associated with financial services. By verifying the identity of customers, financial institutions can reduce the likelihood of fraudulent activities, such as account takeovers, unauthorized transactions and loan fraud. This verification process bolsters the overall security of the financial system and creates a more trustworthy environment for stakeholders. Trust is fundamental in establishing long-lasting customer relationships and attracting new clients to financial institutions.   Facilitating digital onboarding and seamless customer experience As financial services embrace digital transformation, identity document verification becomes essential for smooth onboarding processes. Automated identity verification solutions enable customers to open accounts and access services remotely, eliminating the need for in-person visits or cumbersome paperwork. By streamlining the customer experience and minimizing the time and effort required for account setup, financial institutions can attract tech-savvy individuals and enhance customer satisfaction.  Combating money laundering and terrorist financing Proper document verification is a key component of combating money laundering and terrorist financing activities. By verifying customer identities, financial institutions can establish the source of funds and detect suspicious transactions that may be linked to illicit activities. This proactive approach helps protect the integrity of the financial system, supports national security efforts, and contributes to the global fight against organized crime and terrorism. Identity document verification is a vital component in the layered, interconnected approach to mitigating and preventing fraud in modern financial services. By leveraging advanced technologies and robust verification processes, financial institutions can ensure the authenticity of customer identities, comply with regulatory requirements, mitigate risk and enhance trust.  As financial services continue evolving in an increasingly digital landscape, identity document verification will remain a crucial tool for safeguarding the security and integrity of the global financial system.  For more information on how Experian can help you reduce fraud while delivering a seamless customer experience, visit our fraud management solutions hub.   Learn more

The ability to verify customer identities is essential for financial institutions for numerous reasons: regulatory requirements, for the protection of their consumers and their business, mitigating risk and more. Being able to detect high-risk customers and large transactions is a critical component of Know Your Customer (KYC) strategies. In addition to being good business practices, this type of risk mitigation is also outlined in industry regulations. In an increasingly complex regulatory environment, companies may be faced with meeting multiple KYC and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. Actions taken to validate customers such as enhanced due diligence in KYC compliance have impacts spanning far beyond just regulatory compliance. As with any business, bottom line and budget are primary drivers for many financial institutions. Enhanced due diligence (EDD) can positively impact a business's bottom line by contributing to the reduction of fraud rates. And with increased security to discover potential fraudsters, organizations can protect both customers and reputational value. Enhanced due diligence explained: Why KYC, CIP and AML are critical in financial services EDD takes Customer Due Diligence (CDD) to the next level. Financial institutions conduct CDD to protect their organizations from financial crime. CDD is also a critical component of KYC steps to comply with AML laws. AML legislation requires financial institutions to validate their customers to ensure they aren’t part of explicitly illegal financial activity or funding terrorism. EDD is, as it sounds, a more involved form of due diligence, which encompasses additional procedures. EDD involves determining a customer’s risk, often requiring additional information and evidence to determine their viability. While CDD is performed on all customers, EDD is reserved for high-risk potential customers. Because EDD is often more costly and involved in terms of time and resources, a risk-based approach is recommended to flag only the instances when this additional level of validity is required. KYC references the mandatory process of identifying and verifying a client’s identity at account opening and over the course of their relationship with a company to ensure they are the person they say they are. KYC consists of three parts: Customer identification program (CIP), CDD and EDD. CIP requires, at minimum, that financial institutions provide four pieces of identifying information including name, date of birth, address and identification number. CDD consists of classifying the identifying information that was collected. After identifying who the client is (via CIP), CDD assesses the information to determine risk. Enhanced due diligence in KYC In order to establish a competent EDD program, you must improve your CIP and KYC programs. Objective, automated and efficient identity verification capabilities help you acquire profitable, legitimate customers and monitor them effectively over time to meet regulatory compliance expectations. How can EDD benefit your business? Failing to comply with EDD regulations can result in countless risks for financial institutions like fines and reputational losses. While many customers pose little to no risk, high-risk individuals must be flagged quickly and efficiently. The primary benefit of EDD is to protect both financial institutions and their customers from financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing, but there are other risks as well. By mitigating potential risks associated with higher-risk customers, EDD can prevent financial institutions from incurring regulatory fines, legal action, and damage to their reputation. In turn, this ensures that customers have more trust in their financial service providers. Financial institutions can then gain a competitive advantage by offering more secure financial products and services that investors, businesses and customer demand. Access EDD from Experian Experian leverages our advanced analytics, reliable data sources, and team of experts to conduct objective, full and comprehensive due diligence with confidence and certainty. Our solutions, including flexible monitoring and segmentation tools, allow you to resolve discrepancies and fraud risk in a single step, all while keeping pace with emerging fraud threats with effective customer identification software. Improving your Customer Identification Program (CIP) and KYC programs In conclusion, Enhanced Due Diligence in KYC, CIP, and AML are critical components of the financial services regulatory compliance framework. EDD goes beyond the standard KYC, CIP, and AML checks to mitigate risks associated with higher-risk customers. Implementing EDD can help financial institutions comply with regulatory requirements, protect against potential risks, and prevent financial crimes. Ultimately, this benefits not only the institutions but also their customers and the broader economy. It’s vital that financial institutions understand and appreciate the importance of EDD and take appropriate measures to implement it effectively. Experian offers objective, automated and efficient identity verification solutions to help you acquire profitable, legitimate customers and monitor them over time to meet regulatory compliance expectations. Discover the power of CIP and KYC solutions. Learn more

More than half of U.S. businesses say they discuss fraud management often, making fraud detection in banking top-of-mind. Banking fraud prevention can seem daunting, but with the proper tools, banks, credit unions, fintechs, and other financial institutions can frustrate and root out fraudsters while maintaining a positive experience for good customers. What is banking fraud? Banking fraud is a type of financial crime that uses illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a bank, other financial institution, or customers of the bank. This type of fraud can be difficult to detect when misclassified as credit risk or written off as a loss rather than investigated and prevented in the future. Fraud that impacts financial institutions consists of small-scale one-off events or larger efforts perpetrated by fraud rings. Not long ago, many of the techniques utilized by fraudsters required in-person or phone-based activities. Now, many of these activities are online, making it easier for fraudsters to disguise their intent and perpetrate multiple attacks at once or in sequence. Banking fraud can include: Identity theft: When a bad actor steals a consumer’s personal information and uses it to take money, open credit accounts, make purchases, and more. Check fraud: This type of fraud occurs when a fraudster writes a bad check, forges information, or steals and alters someone else’s check. Credit card fraud: A form of identity theft where a bad actor makes purchases or gets a cash advance in the name of an unsuspecting consumer. The fraudster may takeover an existing account by gaining access to account numbers online, steal a physical card, or open a new account in someone else’s name.  Phishing: These malicious efforts allow scammers to steal personal and account information through use of email, or in the case of smishing, through text messages. The fraudster often sends a link to the consumer that looks legitimate but is designed to steal login information, personally identifiable information, and more. Direct deposit account fraud: Also known as DDA fraud, criminals monetize stolen information to open new accounts and divert funds from payroll, assistance programs, and more. Unfortunately, this type of fraud doesn’t just lead to lost funds – it also exposes consumer data, impacts banks’ reputations, and has larger implications for the financial system. Today, top concerns for banks include generative AI (GenAI) fraud, peer-to-peer (P2P) payment scams, identity theft and transaction fraud. Without the proper detection and prevention techniques, it’s difficult for banks to keep fraudsters perpetrating these schemes out. What is banking fraud prevention? Detecting and preventing banking fraud consists of a set of techniques and tasks that help protect customers, assets and systems from those with malicious intent. Risk management solutions for banks identify fraudulent access attempts, suspicious transfer requests, signs of false identities, and more. The financial industry is constantly evolving, and so are fraudsters. As a result, it’s important for organizations to stay ahead of the curve by investing in new fraud prevention technologies. Depending on the size and sophistication of your institution, the tools and techniques that comprise your banking fraud prevention solutions may look different. However, every strategy should include multiple layers of friction designed to trip up fraudsters enough to abandon their efforts, and include flags for suspicious activity and other indicators that a user or transaction requires further scrutiny.   Some of the emerging trends in banking fraud prevention include: Use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). While these technologies aren’t new, they are finding footing across industries as they can be used to identify patterns consistent with fraudulent activity – some of which are difficult or time-consuming to detect with traditional methods. Behavioral analytics and biometrics. By noting standard customer behaviors — e.g., which devices they use and when — and how they use those devices — looking for markers of human behavior vs. bot or fraud ring activity — organizations can flag riskier users for additional authentication and verification. Leveraging additional data sources. By looking beyond standard credit reports when opening credit accounts, organizations can better detect signs of identity theft, synthetic identities, and even potential first-party fraud.     With real-time fraud detection tools in place, financial institutions can more easily identify good consumers and allow them to complete their requests while applying the right amount and type of friction to detect and prevent fraud.   How to prevent and detect banking fraud In order to be successful in the fight against fraud and keep yourself and your customers safe, financial institutions of all sizes and types must: Balance risk mitigation with the customer experience Ensure seamless interactions across platforms for known consumers who present little to no risk Leverage proper identity resolution and verification tools Recognize good consumers and apply the proper fraud mitigation techniques to riskier scenarios With Experian’s interconnected approach to fraud detection in banking, incorporating data, analytics, fraud risk scores, device intelligence, and more, you can track and assess various activities and determine where additional authentication, friction, or human intervention is required. 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Experian’s eighth annual identity and fraud report found that consumers continue to express concerns with online security, and while businesses are concerned with fraud, only half fully understand its impact – a problem we previously explored in last year’s global fraud report. In our latest report, we explore today’s evolving fraud landscape and influence on identity, the consumer experience, and business strategies. We surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. consumers and 200 U.S. businesses about their concerns, priorities, and investments for our 2023 Identity and Fraud Report. This year’s report dives into: Consumer concerns around identity theft, credit card fraud, online privacy, and scams such as phishing.Business allocation to fraud management solutions across industries.Consumer expectations for both security and their experience.The benefits of a layered solution that leverages identity resolution, identity management, multifactor authentication solutions, and more. To identify and treat each fraud type appropriately, you need a layered approach that keeps up with ever-changing fraud and applies the right friction at the right time using identity verification solutions, real-time fraud risk alerts, and enterprise orchestration. This method can reduce fraud risks and help provide a more streamlined, unified experience for your consumers. To learn more about our findings and how to implement an effective solution, download Experian’s 2023 Identity and Fraud Report. Download the report

Banking uncertainty creates opportunity for fraud The recent regional bank collapses left anxious consumers scrambling to withdraw their funds or open new accounts at other institutions. Unfortunately, this situation has also created an opportunity for fraudsters to take advantage of the chaos. Criminals are exploiting the situation and posing as legitimate customers looking to flee their current bank to open new accounts elsewhere. Financial institutions looking to bring on these consumers as new clients must remain vigilant against fraudulent activity. Fraudsters also prey on vulnerable individuals who may be financially stressed and uncertain about the future. This creates a breeding ground for scams as fear and uncertainty cloud judgment and make people more susceptible to manipulation. Beware of fraudulent tactics Now, it is more important than ever for financial institutions to be vigilant in their due diligence processes. As they navigate this period of financial turbulence, they must take extra precautions to ensure that new customers are who they say they are by verifying customer identities, conducting thorough background checks where necessary, and monitoring transactions for any signs of suspicious activity. Consumers should also maintain vigilance — fraudulent schemes come in many forms, from phishing scams to fake investment opportunities promising unrealistic returns. To protect yourself against these risks, it is important to remain vigilant and take precautions such as verifying the legitimacy of any offers or investments before investing, monitoring your bank and credit card statements regularly for suspicious activity, and being skeptical of unsolicited phone calls, emails, or text messages. Security researcher Johannes Ulrich reported that threat actors are jumping at the opportunity, registering suspicious domains related to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) that are likely to be used in attacks. Ulrich warned that the scammers might try to contact former clients of SVB to offer them a support package, legal services, loans, or other fake services relating to the bank's collapse. Meanwhile, on the day of the SVB closure, synthetic identity fraud began to climb from an attack rate of .57 to a first peak of 1.24% on the Sunday following the closure, or an increase of 80%. After the first spike reduced on March 14, we only saw a return of an even higher spike on March 21 to 1.35%, with bumps continuing since then. As the economy slows and fraud rises, don’t let your guard down The recent surge in third-party attack rates on small business and investment platforms is a cause for concern. There was a staggering nearly 500% increase in these attacks between March 7th and 11th, which coincided with the release of negative news about SVB. Bad actors had evidently been preparing for this moment and were quick to exploit vulnerabilities they had identified across our financial system. They used sophisticated bots to create multiple accounts within minutes of the news dropping and stole identities to perpetrate fraudulent activities. This underscores the need for increased vigilance and proactive measures to protect against cyber threats impacting financial institutions. Adopting stronger security measures like multi-factor authentication, real-time monitoring, and collaboration with law enforcement agencies for timely identification of attackers is of paramount importance to prevent similar fraud events in the future. From frictionless to friction-right As businesses seek to stabilize their operations in the face of market turbulence, they must also remain vigilant against the threat of fraud. Illicit activities can permeate a company's ecosystem and disrupt its operations, potentially leading to financial losses and reputational damage. Safeguarding against fraud is not a simple task. Striking a balance between ensuring a smooth customer experience and implementing effective fraud prevention measures can be a challenging endeavor. For financial institutions in particular, being too stringent in fraud prevention efforts may drive customers away, while being too lenient can expose them to additional fraud risks. This is where a waterfall approach, such as that offered by Experian CrossCore®, can prove invaluable. By leveraging an array of fraud detection tools and technologies, businesses can tailor their fraud prevention strategies to suit the specific needs and journeys of different customer segments. This layered, customized approach can help protect businesses from fraud while ensuring a seamless customer experience. Learn more

With an ever-present need for efficiency, security, and seamless citizen services, many agencies are looking at the benefits of a data-driven government. Last year, the federal government kicked off a unified effort to enable data-driven decision making. The goal at that level – and across all agencies – is to serve citizens more efficiently and effectively. By embracing the power of data and analytics, agencies of all sizes can set themselves up to better serve their citizens. What is a data-driven government? Agencies collect citizen data from a variety of service-based sources, including the Postal Service, Census Bureau, social welfare departments, and agencies that issue government IDs. When properly leveraged, this data holds many possibilities. However, many agencies face challenges when it comes to efficient collection, sharing, usage, integrity, and accessibility. Due to the amount of data collected and the potential lack of consistency in the collection and storage techniques, the data may not be usable. Without proper management and analysis, there’s little government agencies can do with their data to improve their processes. A data-driven government has well-managed data and uses that data to drive their decisions as they relate to citizen requests for benefits, tax collection, elections, and more. What are the benefits of data-driven decision making? Data management and government data analytics enable agencies to react quickly to citizen demands and concerns and proactively anticipate an issue before it becomes a crisis. With the right tools, agencies can gain a holistic view of their citizens, communicate effectively internally, provide digitally-driven services and improve overall efficiency through government-wide data integration and management. These changes have a wide range of benefits, including reduction of cost, fraud, waste and abuse, the automation of manual processes, and better service delivery. Why is a data-driven strategy required? In addition to the benefits listed above, a data-driven strategy also helps agencies align with published NIST guidelines and the need to monitor, evaluate, and maintain digital identity systems. Proper use of data-driven digital identity strategies will enhance equity and the usability of the solutions agencies provide to their citizens. Building an effective data-driven strategy The right strategy starts with ensuring that all departments about the need for proper data management and analytics and the guidelines that will govern it, such as maintaining up-to-date data, removing silos, and leveraging the right tools. The next step is finding the right partner. An effective partner can help agencies develop and maintain data management systems and implement the right tools and analytics – things like machine learning in government – to help each agency function efficiently and safeguard the data of its citizens. To learn how Experian can help your agency improve its use of data, visit us or request a call. Visit us

The fraud problem is ever-present, with 94% of businesses reporting it as a top priority, and fraudsters constantly finding new targets for theft. Preventing fraud requires a carefully orchestrated strategy that can recognize and treat a variety of types — without adding so much friction that it drives customers away. Experian’s fraud prevention and detection platform, CrossCore®, was recently named an Overall Leader, Product Leader in Fraud Reduction Intelligence Platforms, Innovation Leader and Market Leader in Fraud Reduction by KuppingerCole. CrossCore is an integrated digital identity and fraud risk platform that enables organizations to connect, access, and orchestrate decisions that leverage multiple data sources and services. CrossCore combines risk-based authentication, identity proofing, and fraud detection into a single, state-of-the-art cloud platform. It engages flexible decisioning workflows and advanced analytics to make real-time risk decisions throughout the customer lifecycle. This recognition highlights Experian’s comprehensive approach to combating fraud and validates that CrossCore offers best-in-class capabilities by augmenting Experian’s industry-leading identity and fraud offerings with a highly curated ecosystem of partners which enables further optionality for organizations based on their specific needs. To learn more about how CrossCore can benefit your organization, read the report or visit us. Learn more

On average, the typical global consumer owns three or more connected devices.1 80% of consumers bounce between devices, while 31% who turned to digital channels for their last purchase used multiple devices along the way.2 Considering these trends, many lenders are leveraging multiple channels in addition to direct mail, including email and mobile applications, to maximize their credit marketing efforts. The challenge, however, is effectively engaging consumers without becoming overbearing or inconsistent. In this article, we explore what identity resolution for credit marketing is and how the right identity tools can enable financial institutions to create more cohesive and personalized customer interactions. What is identity resolution? Identity resolution connects unique identifiers across touchpoints to build a unified identity for an individual, household, or business. This requires an identity graph, a proprietary database that collects, stitches, and stores identifiers from digital and offline sources. As a result, organizations can create a persistent, high-definition customer view, allowing for more consistent and meaningful brand experiences. What are the types of identity resolution? There are two common approaches to identity resolution: probabilistic ID matching and deterministic ID matching. Probabilistic ID matching uses multiple algorithms and data sets to match identity profiles that are most likely the same customer. Data points used in probabilistic models include IP addresses and device types. Deterministic ID matching uses first-party data that customers have produced, enabling you to merge new data with customer records and identify matches among existing identifiers. Examples of this type of data include phone numbers and email addresses. What role does identity resolution play in credit marketing? Maintaining a comprehensive customer view is crucial to credit marketing — the insights gained allow lenders to determine who they should engage and the type of offer or messaging that would resonate most. But there are many factors that can prevent financial institutions from doing this effectively: poor data quality, consumers bouncing between multiple devices, and so on. Seven out of 10 consumers find it important that companies they interact with online identify them across visits. Identity resolution for credit marketing solves these issues by matching and linking customer data from disparate sources back to a single profile. This enables lenders to: Create highly targeted campaigns. If your data is incomplete or inaccurate, you may waste your marketing spend by engaging the wrong audience or sending out irrelevant credit offers. An identity resolution solution that leverages expansive, regularly updated data gives you access to high-definition views of individuals, resulting in more personalization and greater campaign engagement. Deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences. To further improve your credit marketing efforts, you’ll need to keep up with consumers not only as their needs or preferences change, but also as they move across channels and devices. Instead of creating multiple identity profiles for the same person, identity resolution can recognize an individual across touchpoints, allowing you to create consistent offers and cohesive experiences. Picking the right marketing identity resolution solution While the type of identity resolution for marketing solution can vary depending on your business’s goals and challenges, Experian can help you get started. To learn more, visit us today. 1 Global number of devices and connections per capita 2018-2023, Statista. 2 Cross Device Marketing - Statistics and Trends, Go-Globe.

Jennifer Schulz, CEO of Experian, North America kicked off Experian’s annual Vision conference Tuesday morning pointing to data, analytics, technology and collective curiosity as the drivers for change and a more impactful tomorrow to more than 700 attendees. Keynote speaker: Jennifer Bailey Jennifer Bailey, Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, spoke about the customer experience “ethos.” She explained how Apple takes a long-term view and values the single most important performance metric as customer experience. She said creating a seamless customer experience comes down to making things simple and understandable, and asking, “Are we solving a customer problem?” and “How are we making it easier for customers to enjoy and liver their lives. Bailey, who said of all apps she uses the weather app the most, also talked about innovation, and that both intent and making mistakes are important parts of the process. Apple’s products are known for their user-friendliness, and design is part of that. She encouraged the audience to give design teams room to create without bottom line pressures and not to be afraid to take well-considered risks. Keynote Speaker: Gary Cohn Gary Cohn, Vice Chairman of IBM, talked about the current economic climate, and while it’s a natural viewpoint to look to the past for guidance, the current environment is unlike any before. Cohn discussed regulatory compliance in the banking industry and prioritizing safety and soundness. While AI is topical and in numerous headlines recently, Cohn reminded the conference goers that AI isn’t new. He said what is new and important is that you can now teach models to find the information needed rather than having to feed all the information yourself. He believes AI is not the end of employment, but rather helps boost productivity, efficiency, and job satisfaction and provides organizations more data. As for advice for the audience, Cohn shared opportunities are in the uncomfortable zones and you have to be willing to fail in order to succeed. Session highlights – Day 1 The conference hall was buzzing with conversations, discussions and thought leadership. Overall themes that were frequently part of the conversation included seamless customer experiences, agility in face of economic changes and leveraging AI/ML into strategies. Fraud automation and preventing commercial fraud More businesses are opening than ever before and lenders and service providers need a way to determine risk from businesses who are less than a year old. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fraud. A layered solution assesses risk and applies the correct friction to resolve the risk and pass or refer the applicant. Identity Today’s consumer wants a personalized experience and is privacy conscious. Additionally, regulators are also pushing for greater privacy. Clean rooms allow you and a partner to add data to a safe space and learn more about consumers without exposing data. The right data improves acquisition rates, identity verification and allows you to anticipate customer needs. Advanced scoring Data, models and strategy are the levers institutions are using to leverage responsible analytics to meet their objectives like safely growing existing portfolios, managing the “right” level of risk, and providing a seamless digital experience. However, the total value of a decisioning system is almost always constrained by its most rudimentary component. The panel of experts discussed their uses and goals for leveraging models and customer experience was at the top of their priorities. Recession preparedness Delinquency is on the rise and lending offers made continue to drop. Changes in the economic climate require frequent monitoring of portfolio and decisions, benchmarking against peers, updating credit models and decision strategies, and stress testing portfolio and models. Trends in credit risk management While AI at the hands of everyone is topical today, it ranked lowest on the list of trends attendees believed were impacting their business. At the top of the list? The growing demand for simpler, faster and seamless experiences. More insights from Vision to come. Follow @ExperianVision and @ExperianInsights to see more of the action.

The rise of the digital channel lead to a rise in new types of fraud – like cryptocurrency and buy now, pay later scams.  While the scams themselves are new, they’re based on tried-and-true schemes like account takeover and synthetic identity fraud that organizations have been working to thwart for years, once again driving home the need for a robust fraud solution.   While the digital channel is extremely attractive to many consumers due to convenience, it represents a balancing act for organizations – especially those with outdated fraud programs who are at increased risk for fraud. As organizations look for ways to keep themselves and the consumers they serve safe, many turn to fraud risk mitigation. What are fraud risk management strategies? Fraud risk management is the process of identifying, understanding, and responding to fraud risks. Proper fraud risk management strategies involve creating a program that detects and prevents fraudulent activity and reduces the risks associated with fraud. Many fraud risk management strategies are built on five principles: Fraud Risk AssessmentFraud Risk GovernanceFraud PreventionFraud DetectionMonitoring and Reporting By understanding these principles, you can build an effective strategy that meets consumer expectations and protects your business. Fraud risk assessment Fraud protection begins with an understanding of your organization’s vulnerabilities. Review your top risk areas and consider the potential losses you could face. Then look at what controls you currently have in place and how you can dial those up or down to impact both risk and customer experience. Fraud risk governance Fraud risk governance generally takes the form of a program encompassing the structure of rules, practices, and processes that surround fraud risk management. This program should include the fraud risk assessment, the roles and responsibilities of various departments, procedures for fraud events, and the plan for on-going monitoring. Fraud prevention “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This adage certainly rings true when it comes to fraud risk management. Having the right controls and procedures in place can help organizations stop a multitude of fraud types before they even get a foot in the door. Account takeover fraud prevention is an ideal example of how organizations can keep themselves and consumers safe. Fraud detection The only way to stop 100% of fraud is to stop 100% of interactions. Since that’s not a sustainable way to run a business, it’s important to have tools in place to detect fraud that’s already entered your ecosystem so you can stop it before damage occurs. These tools should monitor your systems to look for anomalies and risky behaviors and have a way to flag and report suspicious activity. Monitoring and reporting Once your fraud detection system is in place, you need active monitoring and reporting set up. Some fraud detection tools may include automatic next steps for suspicious activity such as step-up authentication or another risk mitigation technique. In other cases, you’ll need to get a person involved. In these cases it’s critical to have documented procedure and routing in place to ensure that potential fraud is assessed and addressed in a timely fashion. How to implement fraud risk management By adhering to the principles above, you can gain a holistic view of your current risk level, determine where you want your risk level to be, and what changes you’ll need to make to get there. While you might already have some of the necessary tools in place, the right next step is usually finding a trusted partner who can help you review your current state and help you use the right fraud prevention services that fit your risk tolerance and customer experience goals. To learn more about how Experian can help you leverage fraud prevention solutions, visit us or request a call. Learn more

What Is Identity Proofing? Identity proofing, authentication and management are becoming increasingly complex and essential aspects of running a successful enterprise. Organizations need to get identity right if they want to comply with regulatory requirements and combat fraud. It's also becoming table stakes for making your customers feel safe and recognized. 63 percent of consumers expect businesses to recognize them online, and 48 percent say they're more trusting of businesses when they demonstrate signs of security. Identify proofing is the process organizations use to collect, validate and verify information about someone. There are two goals — to confirm that the identity is real (i.e., it's not a synthetic identity) and to confirm that the person presenting the identity is its true owner. The identity proofing process also relates to and may overlap with other aspects of identity management. Identity proofing vs identity authentication Identity proofing generally takes place during the acquisition or origination stages of the customer lifecycle — before someone creates an account or signs up for a service. Identity authentication is the ongoing process of re-checking someone's identity or verifying that they have the authorization to make a request, such as when they're logging into an account or trying to make a large transaction. How does identity proofing work? Identity proofing typically involves three steps: resolution, validation, and verification. Resolution: The goal of the first step is to accurately identify the single, unique individual that the identity represents. Resolution is relatively easy when detailed identity information is provided. In the real world, collecting detailed data conflicts with the need to provide a good customer experience. Resolution still has to occur, but organizations have to resolve identities with the minimum amount of information. Validation: The validation step involves verifying that the person's information and documentation are legitimate, accurate and up to date. It potentially involves requesting additional evidence based on the level of assurance you need. Verification: The final step confirms that the claimed identity actually belongs to the person submitting the information. It may involve comparing physical documents or biometric data and liveness tests, such as a comparison of the driver's license to a selfie that the person uploads. Different levels of identity proofing may require various combinations of these steps, with higher-risk scenarios calling for additional checks such as biometric or address verification. Service providers can implement a range of methods based on their specific needs, including document verification, database validation, or knowledge-based authentication. Building an effective identity proofing strategy By requiring identity proofing before account opening, organizations can help detect and deter identity fraud and other crimes. You can use different online identity verification methods to implement an effective digital identity proofing and management system. These may include: Document verification plus biometric data: The consumer uploads a copy of an identification document, such as a driver's license, and takes a selfie or records a live video of their face. Database validations: The proofing solution verifies the shared identifying information, such as a name, date of birth, address and Social Security number against trusted databases, including credit bureau and government agency data. Knowledge-based authentication (KBA): The consumer answers knowledge-based questions, such as account information, to confirm their identity. It can be a helpful additional step, but they offer a low level of assurance, partially because data breaches have exposed many people's personal information. In part, the processes you'll use may depend on business policies, associated risks and industry regulations, such as know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. But organizations also have to balance security and ease of use. Each additional check or requirement you add to the identity proofing flow can help detect and prevent fraud, but the added friction they bring to your onboarding process can also leave customers frustrated — and even lead to customers abandoning the process altogether. Finding the right amount of friction can require a layered, risk-based approach. And running different checks during identity proofing can help you gauge the risk involved. For example, comparing information about a device, such as its location and IP address, to the information on an application. Or sending a one-time password (OTP) to a mobile device and checking whether the phone number is registered to the applicant's name. With the proper systems in place, you can use high-risk signals to dynamically adjust the proofing flow and require additional identity documents and checks. At the same time, if you already have a high level of assurance about the person's identity, you can allow them to quickly move through a low-friction flow. Experian goes beyond identity proofing Experian builds on its decades of experience with identity management and access to multidimensional data sources to help organizations onboard, authenticate and manage customer identities. Our identity proofing solutions are compliant with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and enable agencies to confidently verify user identities prior to or during account opening, biometric enrollment or while signing up for services. Learn more   This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information.

With fraud expected to surge amid uncertain economic conditions, fraudsters are preparing new deception techniques to outsmart businesses and deceive consumers. To help businesses prepare for the coming fraud threats, we created the 2023 Future of Fraud Forecast. Here are the fraud trends we expect to see over the coming year: Fake texts from the boss: Given the prevalence of remote work, there’ll be a sharp rise in employer text fraud where the “boss” texts the employee to buy gift cards, then asks the employee to email the gift card numbers and codes. Beware of fake job postings and mule schemes: With changing economic conditions, fraudsters will create fake remote job postings, specifically designed to lure consumers into applying for the job and providing private details like a social security number or date of birth on a fake employment application. Frankenstein shoppers spell trouble for retailers: Fraudsters can create online shopper profiles using synthetic identities so that the fake shopper’s legitimacy is created to outsmart retailers’ fraud controls. Social media shopping fraud: Social commerce currently has very few identity verification and fraud detection controls in place, making the retailers that sell on these platforms easy targets for fraudulent purchases. Peer-to-peer payment problems: Fraudsters love peer-to-peer payment methods because they’re an instantaneous and irreversible way to move money, enabling fraudsters to get cash with less work and more profit “As fraudsters become more sophisticated and opportunistic, businesses need to proactively integrate the latest technology, data and advanced analytics to mitigate the growing fraud risk,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian Decision Analytics in North America. “Experian is committed to continually innovating and bringing solutions to market that help protect consumers and enable businesses to detect and prevent current and future fraud.” To learn more about how to protect your business and customers from rising fraud trends, download the Future of Fraud Forecast and check out Experian’s fraud prevention solutions. Future of Fraud Forecast Press Release

  Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer, Decision Analytics for Experian, was recently featured on the Eliances Heroes podcast as part of the new weekly segment, the “Experian Identity Report.” In the introductory show, podcast host David Cogan, spoke with Kathleen about why identity is so important to our society. Listen to the podcast for the full discussion and see the transcript below. Learn more about Experian Identity David Cogan: How critical is it? Well, I’ll tell you. Payment fraud will exceed $206 billion in the next five years and let’s face it. Managing one’s personal identity is very complicated on its own and if the business enterprise managing customer identities in a strategic and secure way and scale across countless interaction is extremely complicated. And it’s only going to get more complex with the future from what I understand and all the technology that’s coming out if not by the day, by the hour. And that’s why we’re bringing this to you. Interviews with the world’s leading experts on the game changing impact of identity and the need to use reliable data to make confident decisions that securely accelerate customer engagement and that’s why we’re honored here today to have with us Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer, Experian Decision Analytics North America. Kathleen Peters: Thanks so much David, it’s great to be here with you. DC: $206 billion of payment fraud in the next five years? I mean who’s going to want to turn on their computer after this. That is a serious number. What do we do? KP: It’s really important that we get our arms around this both as consumers as well as businesses because we want to engage online. So much of what we’re doing is digital. It especially started in COVID when we were having our groceries delivered and everything else and even our grandparents are having to do their banking transactions online. The world is changing, and fraudsters take notice of that as well. Fraudsters are opportunistic and when they see a bunch of folks doing stuff online that they’ve never done before, they’re seeing that as an opportunity too. DC: You know the days of people horseback riding and overtaking trains are long gone and now it’s all digital. KP: It’s a lot easier these days. DC: Why is identity so important to our daily digital lives and in business? KP: It’s a great question, David. And as a consumer myself, you, and I when we transact online whether that’s to have food delivered, or I’m buying something for my kids or I’m even paying a bill, I want to be able to trust that my information will be safe, that my privacy will be protected and that my experience will be as smooth as possible. I think that’s what we all want. So as consumers and as businesses, how do we enable all the opportunities this new digital world is presenting to us in a way that we are safe and also businesses can transact with us securely and have confidence on who’s engaging with them online. DC: Let’s talk about identity. What really makes identity so challenging to manage at a business enterprise level especially with how complex the business portion is? KP: Absolutely. It really comes down to there are so many elements that comprise our identity. It’s multidimensional. So historically, when we think about identity, we probably think about the things that were on our DL or passport the kind of information that’s pretty static – name, address, SSN, date of birth – those kinds of things. Once we get online, that identity becomes a little more challenging. We’re not necessarily physically in front of the business that we’re engaging with so the business needs to determine if the person is who we say we are. There’s a famous Far Side comic from years ago where a dog is sitting in front of the computer and he says “On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” And that still rings true in that you need to be able to ensure that the customer that’s coming to your business online is a real person and not a bot, is a person with good intent and not a fraudster. You need to look no farther than some of the recent controversies around Twitter and Elon Musk’s on-again, off-again, on-again intent to buy the company. A few months ago he had pulled back because he wanted to know definitively how many users on Twitter are humans versus bots and sometimes determining that can be really hard. And that comes down to managing all these new definitions of identity. DC: That’s very important. The thing is businesses and consumers want to know really what to be able to do. So, what kinds of things is Experian able to offer to help with all of that? KP: We’re in a great position as Experian because we have such a depth and breadth of identity data. We have the analytics horsepower and really touchpoints that are really unique when it comes to thinking about identity. So we’ve been talking about these traditional identity elements and digital, online identity. When you think about it, Experian also really understands your financial identity. So when you bring those things together and a consumer is looking to maybe understand what their financial identity means, their credit score or even how to improve their credit score, Experian’s there. We’ve got a robust direct to consumer business, we’ve got offerings like Boost and Go that help people establish and build their credit. We’ve got marketplaces for cards, insurance, etc. And then when consumers want to open a new account at a financial institution, or a fintech, or a retailer, or even maybe buy some crypto or log into a business, Experian can bring that wealth of capability to help our clients, help businesses, separate those good consumers with good intent from the fraudsters and do that very quickly and efficiently so that consumers can have a great experience and build that trust with who they’re engaging with. DC: Kathleen, that’s really amazing. Alright, now with all of that going on, what is Experian doing now with innovating for the identity space? KP: This is a real passion of mine David and this is where I spend a lot of my time. We’re always looking ahead to see what is the new data, new capabilities that can help us improve that consumer experience and engagement, help clients find the right consumers online to engage and target, and really allow our clients to grow their businesses safely. So, we’re building some products in house, where we’re connecting new pieces that might be new to Experian like linking some of that traditional identity data with particular payment instruments. Is this Kathleen’s credit card? Is this my bank account? When I come and try to do transactions online. But we’re also partnering with new companies. There are a number of startups that are being formed that have been in business looking at new ways to stop fraud and new ways to help identify and authenticate users online. So, as we innovate, we’re building some things in house, we’re partnering, we’re investing in young companies, and sometimes we’re even acquiring. So, bringing together that breadth of data, analytics, really trying to think about what will be the next way that we’ll think about identifying ourselves online is some of the ways we’re innovating. DC: Well, we’re very fortunate to have you and your company here to be able to do that because it’s growing by leaps and bounds. I’m amazed by the number $206 billion which is probably going to go higher, so we’re very fortunate that Experian is around and really identifying this issue and trying to do something now. What do you think our audience will learn about these weekly, critical chats about identity with Experian experts? KP: These are going to be great conversations that we’re going to be able to share and talk about how rapidly things are changing and evolving and how this really relates to our daily lives and the things that are going on in this very dynamic economic climate, digital climate, the way things are changing the way we’re engaging. I think people are also going to learn a lot about Experian’s mission around financial inclusion and opportunity creation. We’re a very mission driven company and we’re the consumer’s bureau, so we want to do this journey in partnership with consumers so that you can take an active part in protecting yourself, understanding what’s going on, helping us fight fraud, but also just really be able to take advantage of all of these new opportunities in a safe way.

Written by: Mihail Blagoev As there is talk about the global economy potentially heading into a recession, while some suggest that it has already started, there is an expectation that many of the world's countries will see their economic output decline in the next couple of months or a year. Among the negative trends that can occur during a recession are companies making fewer sales and people losing their jobs. Unfortunately, just like any other economic crisis, fraud is expected to go in the opposite direction as criminals continue finding innovative ways to attack consumers when they’re most vulnerable. There is also a concern that first-party fraud attempts might rise as genuine consumers are pushed over the edge by inflation and economic uncertainty. With that in mind, here are six fraud trends that are likely to happen during a recession: Fraudsters exploiting the vulnerable  It is well-documented that fraudsters found numerous ways to exploit the vulnerable during the pandemic. Unfortunately, this is expected to happen again in the coming months. As the cost of living rises, criminals will try to use that in their favor by looking for people who can't pay their utility bills or can't afford the price of gas or even food. Fraudsters will try to exploit that by offering them deals, discounts, refunds, or just about anything that will make people believe they are paying less for something that has increased in value or is out of reach at its normal price. Fraudsters have two main goals behind these tactics – stealing personal information to use in other crimes or gaining immediate financial benefits. Although their tactics are well-known – applying pressure on their victims to make quick decisions or offering them something that sounds like a great deal, but in truth, it isn't – that won't prevent them from trying. These scams show that, unlike in other industries, criminals do not rely on high success rates to achieve their goals. All they need is one or two victims out of every few hundred to fall for their schemes. Loan origination fraud Periods of financial instability often result in an increase in first-party fraud, among others. This could take many forms, and there is a possibility for an increase in fraudulent loan applications by genuine consumers to be among the most popular ones. In this type of fraud, bad actors lie on registration forms or applications to gain access to funds they wouldn't normally receive if they added their real information. That could be done by lying about their income and employment information, usually inflating their salaries, extending the amount of time they worked for a certain company, or simply adding a company they have never worked for. Other popular forgeries include anything from supplying fake phone numbers and addresses to providing fake bank statements and utility bills. Money mules Recessions can result in layoffs or people looking for work not being able to find any. That's another opportunity for fraudsters to exploit the vulnerable by offering them “jobs.” This could be achieved by posting job ads on real employment websites or social media. Once recruited, people are asked to open new bank accounts or use their previously opened accounts to transfer funds to accounts that are in the possession of criminals. In the end, the funds get laundered, while the genuine account holder receives a fee for the service. People of all ages are a possible target, but this is especially true for younger generations who often don't understand the consequences of their activities.  Friendly fraud Another type of first-party fraud that could go up as a result of the increased economic pressures could be friendly fraud. In this type of fraud that mostly affects the retail industry, consumers charge back genuine payments made by them in order to end up with both the product purchased and the funds for it back in their possession. They could then keep the product or quickly resell it for less than its original value. Luxury goods and electronics could be especially attractive for this type of fraud. Claiming non-deliveries or transactions not being recognized could be among the top reasons used for charging back the transactions. Investment fraud During times of economic hardship, people are often looking for ways to keep their savings from getting eaten by inflation. Investments in property could be one solution, but as it is not affordable for everyone, people are also looking for other ways to invest their money. While this isn’t exactly a vulnerability, it is something that criminals are looking to exploit greatly. They usually reach out to potential victims through social media while also presenting them with fake websites that mimic those by real investors. The opportunities being offered can range from cryptocurrency to various schemes and products that don’t exist or are worthless. However, after the criminals obtain possession of the funds, they discontinue their contact with the victims. Fake goods While this shouldn't happen to the same extent that was seen in 2020, there is a chance that some goods might disappear from certain markets. There could be a variety of reasons for that, from companies limiting their production or going out of business due to inability to pay their bills or shortage in sales to issues with supply chains due to the high gas and oil prices. Expect fraudsters to be the first to move in if there are shortages and start offering fake products or goods that will never arrive.  It is still difficult to measure if or when a recession will hit each corner of the world or how long it will take for the next phase in the financial cycle to begin. However, one thing that is certain is that the longer it takes the economy to settle, the more opportunities criminals will have to benefit from their schemes and come up with new ways to defraud people. Businesses should monitor the fraud environment around them closely and be ready to adjust their fraud management strategies quickly. They should also understand the complexity of the problems in front of them and that they will likely need a mixture of capabilities to sort them out while keeping their customer base happy. This is where fraud orchestration platforms could help by offering the needed solutions to solve multiple fraud issues and the flexibility to turn any of these tools on and off when needed. Contact us

External fraud generally results from deceptive activity intended to produce financial gain that is carried out by an individual, a group of people or an entire organization. Fraudsters may prey on any organization or individual, regardless of the size or nature of their activities. The tactics used are becoming increasingly sophisticated, requiring a multilayered fraud mitigation strategy. Fraud mitigation involves using tools to reduce the frequency or severity of these risks, ultimately protecting the bottom line and the future of the organization. Fraud impacts the bottom line and so much more According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase over the previous year and the highest dollar amount ever reported. These costs extend beyond the face value of the theft to include fees and interest incurred, fines and legal fees, labor and investigation costs and external recovery expenses. Aside from dollar losses and direct costs, fraud can also pose legal risks that lead to fines and other legal actions and diminish credibility with regulators. Word of deceptive activities can also create risk for the brand and reputation. These factors can, in turn, result in a loss of market confidence, making it difficult to retain clients and engage new business. Leveraging fraud mitigation best practices As the future unfolds, three things are fairly certain: 1) The future is likely to bring more technological advances and, thereby, new ways of working and creating. 2) Fraudsters will continue to look for ways to exploit those opportunities. 3) The future is here, today. Organizations that want to remain competitive in the digital economy should make fraud mitigation and prevention an integral part of their operational strategy. Assess the risk environment While enhancing revenue opportunities, the global digital economy has increased the complexity of risk management. Be aware of situations that require people to enforce fraud risk policies. While informed, experienced people are powerful resources, it is important to automate routine decisions where you can and leverage people on the most challenging cases. It is also critical to consider that not every fraud risk aligns directly to losses. Consider touchpoints where information can be exposed that will later be used to commit fraud. Information that crooks attempt to glean from idle chatter during a customer service call can be a source of unexpected vulnerability. These activities can benefit from greater transparency and automated oversight. Create a tactical plan to prevent and handle fraud Leverage analytics wherever possible to streamline decisions and choose the right level of friction that’s appropriate for the risk, and palatable for good customers. Consumers and small businesses have come to expect a customized and frictionless experience. Employee productivity, and ultimately revenue growth, requires the ability to operate with speed and informed confidence. A viable fraud mitigation strategy should incorporate these goals seamlessly with operational objectives. If not, prevention and mitigation controls may be sidelined to get legitimate business done, creating inroads for fraudsters. Look for a partner who can apply the right friction to situations depending on your risk appetite and use existing data (including your internal data and their own data resources) to better identify individual consumers. This identification process can actually smooth the way for known consumers while providing the right protection against fraudsters and giving consumers who are new to your organization a sense of safety and security when logging in for the first time. It's equally important that everyone in your organization is working together to prevent fraud. Establish and document best practices and controls, beginning with fostering a workplace culture in which fraud mitigation is part of everyone's job. Empower and train all staff to identify and report suspicious activity and ensure they know how to raise concerns. Consider implementing ways to encourage open and swift communication, such as anonymous or confidential reporting channels. Stay vigilant and tap into resources for managing risks It is likely impossible to think of every threat your organization might face. Instead, think of fraud mitigation as an ongoing process to identify and isolate any suspected fraud fast — before the activity can develop into a major threat to the bottom line — and manage any fallout. Incorporating technology and robust data collection can fortify governance best practices. Technology can also help you perform the due diligence faster, ensuring compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and other regulations. As necessary, work with risk assessment consultants to get an objective, experienced view.  Learn more about fraud risk mitigation and fraud prevention services. Learn more