All posts by Editor

Experian, the global information services company, has identified five key factors currently making people and organisations more vulnerable to large-scale cyber fraud. Speaking at the renowned Merchant Risk Council EU Congress on May 19th in Seville, Spain, Experian’s Global Identity and Fraud Director, Hugh Steed, shared his insights with nearly 500 eCommerce fraud and payments professionals. A wealth of stolen data available to fraudsters. Wholesale data theft is one of the fastest growing crimes facing people and organisations today, with hundreds of millions of digital identities compromised every year. Fraudsters are increasingly targeting on-line credentials over previously preferred data, such as credit cards. The exponential growth of malware. After data breaches, malware is the criminal’s key method of obtaining digital identities. From mobile applications to traditional desktop platforms, malware manifests itself in many different forms and its volume is ever increasing. Fraudsters are targeting both end users and enterprises to acquire these valuable credentials for use in sophisticated frauds. The frequent username and password reuse by consumers. Experian’s research revealed that the majority of internet users consistently use a small set of usernames and passwords to secure multiple different accounts; including social media, email and online shopping sites. More specifically, people have on average up to 26 online accounts protected by only five different passwords. This greatly increases the risk that fraudsters can use data stolen from one source to successfully access other accounts held by the same user. An increase of multi-channel interaction between customers and business. People now have access to multiple digital and physical channels, enabling them to interact with businesses, manage accounts and make transactions. However, this diverse channel environment also facilitates the work of cyber criminals as each open channel is an opportunity to commit fraud and securing these channels is a significant challenge for enterprises. The trade-off between security and user experience. As companies consider the necessary steps required to increase online account security, they are conscious that they cannot risk adversely affecting the customer experience. Customers making transactions online today expect a seamless journey and are likely to be put off by onerous visible security procedures. Hugh commented: "Experian’s research shows that fraud today is often a complex cycle that starts with data theft and proceeds through a set of discrete staging points, ending with a fraudulent transaction. “Rather than being instantaneous, the fraud process can span weeks or even months often with different criminal organisations involved and data changing hands. However, the very nature of this cycle means that there are systems that can be implemented to detect and stop such fraud early and before it causes losses that are significant in scale. To put things into context, for a handful of our largest customers alone, we have helped them detect and prevent fraud worth over $500 million dollars.” Felipe Fernandez-Atela, President of Experian in Spain, said: "Protecting people and businesses from the threat of fraud is one of our main goals. In fact, companies using our fraud prevention solutions consistently outperform the industry benchmarks in areas such as ‘decline rates’ and ‘fraud rate by order’ – both of which are typically 15 times below the industry average. We have the expertise, both in our products, services and skills of our people to help ensure society is more protected against this type of crime.”

Adam Fingersh, senior vice president and general manager of Experian’s fraud and identity business, shared several fraud prevention strategies that businesses and consumers can use to manage risk and increase security while using Internet-enabled products, also known as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Emad Georgy, global CTO of Experian Marketing Services, explains how marketers can enhance customer journey to attain success in their business.

Headlines bemoan the lack of personal finance being taught in our schools. Most students will graduate with little to no education on personal finance basics. But, with Experian’s help, LifeSmarts is making a difference for students across the country. Together, we are helping students get on the right path to a lifetime of success by equipping them with the financial knowledge and consumer skills they need to make informed, responsible choices.

Experian Marketing Services, a recognized leader in data-driven marketing and cloud-based marketing technology, today unveiled an audience management platform that will change the way the advertising industry buys and measures media.

I’m pleased to share that Experian has taken another important step in the transformation of our Consumer Services business, having signed an agreement to acquire CSIdentity Corporation (CSID).

Tru Optik, the only audience measurement and data management platform built for OTT and Connected TV, has partnered with Experian Marketing Services to offer a service providing real-time census-level viewer data for over-the-top (OTT) TV programs and ad exposure across all screens. Tru Optik clients will be able to measure and segment content and ad exposure based on lifestyle, demographic and purchase behavior powered by Experian’s ConsumerView marketing database.

Experian had the honor of celebrating innovative achievements in marketing with a few of our superstar clients at the 2016 Marketing&Tech Innovation Awards presented by Direct Marketing News and The Hub. The second annual awards program honors achievements in marketing leveraging data and technology. Three Experian Marketing Services’ client programs were recognized for their innovation in analytics, email marketing and omnichannel marketing.

Does knowing where fraud takes place matter? That is the question we asked ahead of compiling data from 2015 to show where billing and shipping fraud attacks occur in the United States. The answer is Yes, it does matter. With more than 13 million fraud victims in 2015,[1] assessing where fraud occurs is an important layer of verification when performing real-time risk assessments for e-commerce. Experian analyzed millions of e-commerce transactions to identify fraud attack rates across the United States for both shipping and billing locations. You can view the map to see the attack rates for all states and download the top 100 ZIP Code rankings as well. Click here for the highlights and the findings.