All posts by Theresa Nguyen

Customers rarely announce their departure. Instead, they quietly reduce engagement, move deposits and explore competing offers. By the time attrition shows up in reporting, competitors may have already captured meaningful wallet share. For lenders, the risk isn’t just lost accounts, it’s silent revenue erosion within relationships that still appear intact. The hidden risk in your portfolio Today’s consumers often hold less than half of their deposits or loans with a single provider. At the same time: Competition for prime borrowers continues to intensify. Cross-sell remains one of the most effective and efficient growth strategies available. Even small improvements in retention can drive outsized profitability gains. The opportunity is real, but only if you can see momentum early and act before competitors do. From static reviews to strategic signals Traditional monthly and quarterly reviews confirm what has already happened, but they rarely surface early indicators like emerging behavioral shifts or improving credit capacity. Modern portfolio management requires continuous visibility into behavioral signals, trended credit data and event-based triggers that highlight change as it happens. When you can see momentum forming, you can act with precision, intervene before balances leave, engage customers as capacity strengthens, and activate compliant prescreen cross-sell campaigns at the right moment. Our new interactive strategic snapshot outlines the modern approach to portfolio management, one that connects ongoing account review with timely, event-based signals, helping you protect, retain and grow high-value customers. Download it now to see how to turn early signals into stronger customer lifetime value. Read the snapshot

A new reality for screening providers Everything about the candidate checked out. Their resume reflected the right experience. Their references confirmed it. The background screening process came back clean. From outside, there was no reason to hesitate. So, the company didn’t.  But within weeks, small inconsistencies began to surface. The employee struggled in ways that didn’t match their credentials. Follow-up questions led to vague answers. Eventually, a deeper review uncovered the issue; this wasn’t just a case of exaggeration. It was candidate fraud. And increasingly, it’s not just individuals acting alone.  In a widely reported scheme, foreign operatives posed as legitimate remote IT workers, using stolen identities and AI-assisted interviews to secure jobs at major Fortune 500 companies. Once hired, access was handed off, allowing bad actors to infiltrate corporate systems and generate millions in illicit revenue. In one case, a single individual funneled over $17 million to a foreign operation. These weren’t obvious scams. The candidates passed interviews. They cleared checks. And that’s exactly the point. For background screening and verification providers, this shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As candidate fraud becomes more sophisticated, your clients are no longer just looking to verify records – they’re looking to trust identity itself, and they’re looking to you to help them do it. The assumption that no longer holds For decades, hiring has relied on a simple premise: verify the records, resume, and you can trust the candidate. That model worked when identity was easier to validate in person. But in today’s digital-first hiring environment, identity can oftentimes be asserted, not proven. At the same time, identity-based fraud is accelerating. Synthetic identity fraud alone accounts for billions in annual losses, and employers are increasingly encountering candidates whose identities are far more difficult to validate than their resumes. This creates a critical disconnect: Organizations are still verifying records, but those records may be tied to identities that were never legitimate to begin with. Increasingly, they’re turning to their screening partners to close that gap. The reality of candidate fraud 31% of employers have interviewed candidates using a false identity Only 19% feel confident they can detect fraud in hiring 1 in 4 companies report losses of$50K+from fraudulent hires Why candidate fraud is getting harder to see The nature of candidate fraud has fundamentally changed. At one end of the spectrum, companies are still dealing with candidates who falsify resumes, costing businesses time and money when the truth comes to light later. But at the other end, the threat has escalated dramatically. Coordinated fraud rings are now using stolen identities and AI-assisted interviews to place individuals into remote roles, sometimes without ever revealing their identity. And this isn’t slowing down. According to Gartner, by 2028, 1 in 4 candidates could be fake, driven by AI, remote hiring, and identity manipulation. For screening providers, this introduces a new level of complexity. The challenge is no longer just delivering verified records; it’s helping clients surface risks that traditional screening processes were not designed to identify. What traditional screening still gets right None of this diminishes the importance of pre-employment screening. Verifying employment history, education, and background remains a critical part of responsible hiring, and it should. But even the most thorough screening process is designed to answer a specific question: Do the records align with the identity provided? What it does not answer is the question that matters most now: Is that identity real? That gap between record verification and identity validation is where modern fraud operates. And it represents an opportunity for screeners to expand their role from record validation to helping enable stronger identity confidence. The cost of believing everything is working When fraud moves through the hiring process undetected, the consequences aren’t always immediate, but they can be significant. There are financial risks, compliance exposure and potential access to sensitive systems. But there’s also a more subtle —and often overlooked — impact: The assumption that existing processes are working as intended. When fraudulent candidates pass through screening, it reinforces confidence in processes that may not be equipped for today’s threat landscape. Over time, that false sense of security can become a vulnerability. From screening provider to strategic partner As hiring evolves, so do expectations. Employers are no longer just looking for faster background checks - they’re looking for greater confidence in who they’re hiring. This shift creates an opportunity for screening providers to move upstream in the hiring process. By introducing identity verification earlier in the workflow, providers can help clients detect candidate fraud sooner, reduce downstream risk, and strengthen the integrity of hiring decisions.  More importantly, it allows providers to differentiate their offerings in an increasingly competitive market, shifting from a transactional service to a more strategic capability. A shift in thinking: Identity before everything else To address modern candidate fraud, organizations don’t just need better tools; they need a different starting point. Instead of beginning with records, leading providers are beginning with identity. They are asking a more fundamental question earlier in the process:  Is this person who they say they are? Is this person a real, consistent and verifiable person? When that foundation is established, everything that follows becomes more meaningful. Background checks become more reliable. Verification becomes more consistent. And the ability to detect candidate fraud improves, not because the process is longer, but because it’s more informed. In this model, identifying potential fraud becomes proactive rather than reactive. Why identity verification matters more now than ever The shift to remote and digital hiring hasn’t just changed how companies hire – it’s changed how fraud occurs. Today, a significant portion of fraudulent activity targets the employment process, making it a key point of exposure for identity misuse. In fact, 45% of all false document submissions now occur in the employment sector. In many cases, candidates who falsify information still progress through hiring workflows. A study revealed that 70% of candidates who falsify information still get hired. This reinforces today’s reality: Fraud is no longer slipping through the cracks; it’s moving through the front door. How Experian helps close the identity gap Experian® helps background screeners and verification providers bridge the gap between who a candidate claims to be and who they are. By combining identity verification, fraud detection, and verification solutions, Experian enables providers to enhance their existing solutions – without disrupting their workflows. This allows you to extend your value beyond traditional screening, help clients detect candidate fraud earlier, and strengthen confidence in hiring outcomes.   The result is not just better screening, it’s a stronger strategic position in your clients’ hiring ecosystem, one that reduces risk while improving speed and confidence. Candidate fraud isn’t an edge case anymore. It reflects a broader shift in how identity works in a digital world. And while traditional screening remains essential, it may not be sufficient on its own. Because if identity is uncertain, every subsequent check is built on unstable ground. But when identity is established earlier in the process, everything that follows becomes more dependable. Don’t just verify the candidate records, verify the identityLearn how Experian helps screening providers embed identity verification at the start of the hiring journey to help detect candidate fraud earlier, reduce risk, and strengthen screening outcomes.  Explore Experian’s Fraud Prevention Playbook for Pre-Employment Screening FAQs

Since 1996, The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued more than 27 million individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) –⁠ a 9-digit number used by individuals who are required to file or report taxes in the United States but are not eligible to obtain a Social Security number (SSN). Across the country, ITIN holders are actively contributing to their communities and the U.S. financial system. They pay bills, build businesses, contribute billions in taxes and manage their finances responsibly. Yet despite their clear engagement, many remain underrepresented within traditional lending models.  Lenders have a meaningful opportunity to bridge the gap between intention and impact. By rethinking how ITIN consumers are evaluated and supported, financial institutions can: Reduce barriers that have historically held capable borrowers back Build products that reflect real borrower needs Foster trust and strengthen community relationships Drive sustainable, responsible growth Our latest white paper takes a more holistic look at ITIN consumers, highlighting their credit behaviors, performance patterns and long-term growth potential. The findings reveal a population that is not only financially engaged, but also demonstrating signs of ongoing stability and mobility. A few takeaways include: ITIN holders maintain a lower debt-to-income ratio than SSN consumers. ITIN holders exhibit fewer derogatory accounts (180–⁠400 days past due). After 12 months, 76.9% of ITIN holders remained current on trades, a rate 15% higher than SSN consumers. With deeper insight into this segment, lenders can make more informed, inclusive decisions. Read the full white paper to uncover the trends and opportunities shaping the future of ITIN lending. Download white paper

Growth, risk and the rise of "hidden" business accounts As inflation remains elevated and early signs of labor market cooling emerge, the credit card landscape is entering its next phase. Over the past few weeks, policy actions and discussions around potential interest-rate caps have driven increased uncertainty across the credit card industry and broader global markets. Lenders face a careful balancing act: capturing growth opportunities while maintaining disciplined risk oversight. Our second annual State of Credit Cards Report explores the macroeconomic forces influencing the market, key shifts in originations and delinquency trends, and lender mix. New this year, the report also digs into an often‑overlooked segment: business accounts hidden inside consumer credit card portfolios. Additionally, the report offers actionable strategies to help lenders segment risk and drive disciplined growth more effectively. Key insights include: 30+ DPD delinquency rates remained above pre-pandemic levels in 2025, underscoring the need for disciplined asset‑quality monitoring. Fintechs continue to gain ground, posting a 71% YOY increase in account originations.  Business accounts masked in the consumer credit card universe represent roughly 14% of balances and are more than 50% larger than the business card universe — a material segment with distinct risk and profitability dynamics that many lenders are not explicitly managing today. The report also outlines practical strategies to: Identify and segment business behavior within consumer portfolios. Align underwriting and account management with actual usage patterns. Capture targeted growth while protecting long‑term portfolio performance. Ready to dive deeper? Download the full 2026 State of Credit Cards Report to uncover insights that can help your organization manage risk more precisely and grow with confidence. Download report

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Whether consumers are shopping for new credit or experiencing financial stress, monitoring their behavior is crucial — even more so in an ever-changing economy. Our latest infographic explores economic trends impacting consumers’ financial behaviors and how Experian’s Risk and Retention TriggersSM enable lenders to detect early signs of risk or churn. Key highlights include: Credit card balances climbed to $1.17 trillion in Q3 2024. As prices of goods and services remain elevated, consumers may continue to experience financial stress, potentially leading to higher delinquency rates. Increasing customer retention rates by 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. View the infographic to learn how Risk and Retention Triggers can help you advance your portfolio management strategy. Access infographic

Our new report provides a snapshot of the current credit card landscape and strategy considerations to inform your business decisions.

Learn how background screeners can optimize pre-employment verification processes, reduce fraud risks, and ensure compliance.