Tag: personal information

Millions of people access the internet every day using desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices. Though an increased number of online users have been accessing the web while working from home due to the pandemic, many are still going online in public places and using public wi-fi and/or unsecured networks, such as coffee shops, airports, and internet cafes. While it may be convenient to access the internet from anywhere at any time, there are risks involved with doing so. Connecting to the internet on an unsecured network without the proper protection can render your device vulnerable to data collection, tracking, and targeting from hackers. The best way to protect yourself from these kinds of attacks is to use a Virtual Private Network, or VPN. What is a Virtual Private Network? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates an encrypted, private connection to the internet that allows you to securely browse the web while protecting your information from being tracked or targeted. Globally, there are approximately 1.5 billion VPN users as of 2023, making up about a third of all internet users worldwide. 43% of these people use a VPN for security reasons.[1] How does a VPN work? A VPN routes your internet traffic through a different server, rather than the server your internet service provider usually uses. The data you send and receive is then encrypted, so even if it were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be unreadable. Your data will appear to be sent from the VPN itself, instead of from your device. This provides an additional layer of privacy to your browsing experience, especially if you’re using a public or unsecured network to access the internet. How can you use a VPN? With Experian’s Secure VPN, what you search, see, and share on your mobile or desktop devices stays hidden from hackers, preventing data collection, tracking, and targeting. You can confidently connect to a stronger, more reliable, private Wi-Fi connection that secures your devices’ online or offline activity. What are the benefits of Experian’s Secure VPN? You can use Experian’s Secure VPN on an unlimited number of desktop and mobile devices, so your whole family can be protected. Secure VPN’s high-speed connection ensures that you won’t need to worry about slow loading times or dropped connections, and its unrivaled security allows you to take advantage of best-in-class privacy. Browsing the internet on an unsecured network is risky and can leave you open to data theft and identity fraud. By using a VPN, you’ll enjoy a safer, more secure internet experience. Visit our website to learn more about Experian’s Digital Privacy and Control solutions. [1]DataProt.net. VPN Statistics for 2023 – Keeping Your Browsing Habits Private.

The average person spends nearly seven hours a day online[1]. Much of that time consists of sharing personal information with a variety of websites, which can sometimes lead to bad actors gaining unauthorized access to your personal information for ill-intended purposes. Theft of your personal information – and subsequently, identity fraud – can have seriously damaging consequences. According to a report from the AARP, nearly 42 million Americans fell victim to identity fraud in 2021, costing $52 billion in losses[2]. You can proactively take three easy steps to protect and keep track of your personal information online. 1. Keep your information updated. Outdated information can lead to problems for your online accounts. If an old online account that you no longer use has outdated information such as a previous home address where you no longer live, or an email address you haven’t used recently, that information can sometimes be used to access your current online accounts. If a hacker has access to those details, they could potentially use that information for criminal activity such as making unauthorized transfers from your bank account. Solution: Make sure your information – name, email address, phone number, mailing address, etc. – is up to date across any websites you use frequently. This may include online shopping, financial information, medical records, email accounts, and/or social media networks. It’s also a good idea to delete any online accounts you no longer use and/or remove any out-of-date information from those accounts. 2. Switch up your passwords. Using the same password for too long, or for multiple accounts, can make it easy for hackers to obtain your personal information. Creating a secure password that’s also easy to remember can be a challenge. Many hackers will try to guess your password based on common information that’s easy to remember, such as birthdates, anniversaries, names of family members or pets, or street addresses. Solution: Change your password at least every six months for any websites where you’ve shared your personal information, and make sure this password can’t be easily guessed. Avoid special dates, names, or street addresses. Using a password manager can help you generate stronger passwords and keep track of existing ones across multiple online accounts, while safely storing and protecting your login information in one place. 3. Add two-factor authentication when possible. Without it, hackers can more easily break into your accounts and gain access to your personal information. Two-factor authentication adds a second layer of defense against people who try to gain access to your online accounts without your permission. Without it, a hacker only needs to obtain your email address and guess your password to get into your account and steal your personal information. Solution: Enable two-factor authentication for as many of your online accounts as possible. When this feature is turned on, a temporary code will be sent to your phone or email inbox whenever you attempt to log in to your account. Since hackers will not have access to this code, they will not be able to access your account.  Identity theft is a serious concern with potentially severe consequences. Avoid any unnecessary risk by:   Keeping your information up to date Changing your passwords often Adding two-factor authentication when possible By taking these proactive steps, you can drastically reduce your risk of falling victim to identity theft while maintaining control of your personal information online. Learn more about our identity protection services [1] Oberlo. 2022. How Much Time Does the Average Person Spend on the Internet? [2] AARP. 2022. Identity Fraud Hit 42 Million People in 2021.

This post was updated in 2022. Fraud prevention can seem like a moving target. Criminals often shift from one scheme to the next, forcing organizations to play catch up to protect consumers’ identities and funds. But with the right technology, it’s possible to implement a fraud solution that provides protection and enhances the consumer journey. The pandemic fraud boom Government stimulus funds, COVID-19 testing and the loosening of business controls were a boon for criminals and levied an immense cost against businesses and consumers.   Consumer fraud losses rose to $3.3 billion in 2020, up from $1.8 billion in 2019.   The rapid increase in digital activity had two significant impacts. First, it shifted new account applications to the digital channel, where increased anonymity favors fraudsters by creating an environment where identity thieves could hide among the immense volume of applicants and monetize stolen personally identifiable information (PII). Second, it fueled account takeover (ATO) attacks by introducing digital “newbies” with unsophisticated password habits and limited ability to recognize and protect themselves from malware or social engineering, making them easy targets for credential theft. The return of old-school fraud Now that businesses and consumers are growing wise to some of the fraud schemes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, criminals are turning to new avenues, including tried-and-true methods like account opening and ATO fraud. New account fraud is expected to cost U.S. financial institutions $3.5 billion in 2021 alone.   Fraud organizations will take the PII available and match it with automated tools to increase their efficiency and success rates while continuing with phishing and other schemes to gain new information that can fuel further attacks. Building a fraud solution Staying ahead of fraudsters may feel like a losing proposition but equipped with the proper fraud controls, you can enhance the customer experience, increase operational efficiency and protect against developing fraud schemes. With a fraud solution that uses multiple tools in concert, it’s possible to recognize, verify and holistically risk assess most consumers that pass through your portfolio. The right platform — ideally one that can call upon different services to perform each job — will enable your organization to flag suspicious activity, increase insight into large-scale attacks, track risky users and break down traditional internal silos. By coordinating efforts and adding multiple touchpoints to run both in the foreground and background, you can ensure the right friction is applied at the right time without diminishing the end-user experience. In fact, by improving your recognition tools, you can make the experience for recognized, legitimate customers even easier. To learn more about the potential impacts of traditional fraud and how your organization can leverage a fraud prevention solution to achieve your retention and growth goals, read our latest white paper or request a call. Read white paper Schedule a call

For the last several months, Experian has participated as the only credit bureau in the pilot of the electronic Consent Based Social Security Number (SSN) Verification (eCBSV) service. As we move forward to general rollout and expanded availability later this year, it’s time to review the benefits of eCBSV and how it helps businesses prevent synthetic identity fraud.   Service and program overview The eCBSV service combats synthetic identity fraud by comparing data provided electronically by approved financial institutions against the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) database in real time. This service helps financial institutions verify SSNs more efficiently and enables improved experiences for identifying legitimate or possibly synthetic identities applying for your products.   The verification process begins with consent from the SSN holder – and with eCBSV this consent is provided electronically rather than via a wet signature. Then, the SSN is checked against the SSA database to validate the SSN, name, and date of birth combination are or are not a match. The verification will also indicate if the SSN is listed as deceased with the SSA. Together, these factors can help flag whether or not an identity is synthetic.   By managing this process electronically, it is faster, more secure, and more efficient than before, offering an improved experience for consumers and the financial institutions that service them.   Layering solutions While eCBSV is an excellent step forward in the fight against the rising threat of synthetic identity fraud, a layered fraud mitigation strategy is still necessary. It’s only by layering solutions that financial institutions can accurately identify different types of fraud and provide them with the correct treatment, which is especially important when it comes to rooting out fraud when it’s already embedded in a portfolio.   To learn more about how Experian is helping to combat synthetic identity fraud and how eCBSV can benefit your financial institution, request a call. Request a call

Enterprise Security Magazine recently named Experian a Top 10 Fraud and Breach Protection Solutions Provider for 2020.   Accelerating trends in the digital economy--stemming from stay-at-home orders and rapid increases in e-commerce and government funding--have created an attractive environment for fraudsters. At the same time, there’s been an uptick in the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) available on the dark web. This combination makes innovative fraud and breach solutions more crucial than ever.   Enterprise Security Magazine met with Kathleen Peters, Experian’s Chief Innovation Officer, and Michael Bruemmer, Vice President of Global Data Breach and Consumer Protection, to discuss COVID-19 digital trends, the need for robust fraud protection, and how Experian’s end-to-end breach protection services help businesses protect consumers from fraud.   According to the magazine, “With Experian’s best in class analytics, clients can rapidly respond to ever-changing environments by utilizing offerings such as CrossCore® and Sure ProfileTM to identify and prevent fraud.”   In addition to our commitment to develop new products to combat the rising threat of fraud, Experian is focused on helping businesses minimize the consequences of a data breach. The magazine noted that, “To serve as a one-stop-shop for data breach protection, Experian offers a wide range of auxiliary services such as incident management, data breach notification, identity protection, and call center support.”   We are continuously working to create and integrate innovative and robust solutions to prevent and manage different types of data breaches and fraud. Read the full article Contact us

If you’ve seen an uptick in photos of friends and celebrities looking older with wrinkles on your social media feeds, you’re not alone. A new free photo editor has taken the internet by a storm, featuring an AI-powered image-altering application that allows users to see their “future self.” All you have to do is upload a single photo (or few) from your camera roll to be enhanced. While this may seem like harmless fun, the app is now making headlines over increased privacy concerns about what occurs behind the scenes once users submit their selfies. Red flags were raised when multiple alleged negative implications were connected to the app – including the app’s ownership and the potential risk that the app downloaded a user’s entire photo album onto their database. In fact, the privacy concerns also prompted Democratic Party officials to implore federal agencies, including the FBI, “to look into the potential national security and privacy risks the phone app poses to the United States.” Since then, the app’s creators have addressed these concerns, stating most of the photo processing occurs in the cloud and most photos are deleted within 48 hours. Additionally, the only photos uploaded are ones that have been personally submitted by the user. Regardless, a database of user-submitted photos could be seen as a goldmine to fraudsters. In a time where personal and biometric data (including facial recognition) are some of the key ways to validate security, it’s important for consumers to be aware of how and where they’re sharing their data, whether it’s for an age-progression photo app, or their financial accounts. Consumers, businesses, financial institutions – everyone – should exhibit caution and take measures to ensure personal information remains secure and is not being used for nefarious reasons. While consumers may be aware that businesses are collecting data, companies should take steps to form digital trust with transparency. This could be achieved by: Educating consumers on how their data is being used Effectively communicating privacy policies and service terms more concisely Helping consumers feel in control of their information To learn more about research that indicates a shift to advanced authentication methods (including biometrics), fraud trends and how to combat them, download our e-book. Download Now

Our guest blogger this week is Karen Barney of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The rise of online functionality and connectivity has in turn given rise to online security issues, which create the need for passwords and other defenses against information theft.  Most people today have multiple online accounts and accompanying passwords to protect those accounts.  I personally have accounts (and passwords) for sites I no longer even remember.  And while I have more accounts than most due to my profession, my hunch is that many people deal with the issue of password overload.  Password overload is when you attempt to use your Pinterest, Twitter, work email and university login passwords (one after another) to get into your Money Market Account only to be locked out.  Now you have to go into the branch with photo ID, or endure the dreaded “customer service hotline” (not-line) to prove that “you are you.”  I expect that you have experienced such “password overload” inconveniences, or you almost certainly know someone who has. The problem seems like it could be easily solved by using the same password for everything.  One password to remember, and no more jumbling through your notebook trying to find what password you used for your newest account creation or Facebook app.  The problem with this approach is that if you are using the same passwords for all (or even several) of your accounts, then if someone manages to get the password for say, your Instagram account, they would probably be able to then drain your savings account, phish your family for personal information (such as your Social Security Number), or rack up a warrant in your name for writing bad checks….  This could all happen because you logged into Facebook at an unsecured Wi-fi location, where your password for that one account is compromised, and it happens to be the same password you use for multiple accounts. So, what do you do if you don’t want to tattoo 25 passwords on your arm and you don’t want to end up cuffed for felony check fraud? The answer is a password manager.  This new service was created so that users can remember just one password, yet have access to all other passwords. The best part is that you can have access to these passwords from anywhere as most of the new password managers are internet based. As the need for password management increases, the options consumers have grown leaving even the strictest cybersecurity aficionado pleased with the service. A few things you should look for when finding a password manager are: Is it cross platform? Will it work on your iPhone and your PC? How is the information (your passwords) encrypted? Does the service sync automatically, or will the user need to update the password storage database every time they sign up for a new account? What is the initial authentication process and how strong is it? How reputable is the company who created the product and what is reported about the product itself? By asking yourself these questions you should be on your way to making sure that your passwords are protected and you won’t lose your mind trying to keep track of them all. Just make sure you protect your login credentials for your password manager…. like really, really well…