Tag: digital identity

The risk of identity theft continues to grow yearly for consumers and businesses alike. Identity theft and fraud cases have nearly tripled over the past ten years, with cybercrime losses totaling more than $10 billion this year alone.[1] An effective way for organizations to combat these threats is to implement a policy of identity risk management. Identity risk management Identity risk management refers to the methods used by organizations to anticipate potential fraud threats, protect themselves and their consumers from those vulnerabilities, resolve any fraud incidents that may occur, and prevent future fraud events from happening again. Businesses can implement these methods through a variety of tools and technologies designed to detect fraud risks and mitigate them as quickly and efficiently as possible.  By recognizing the risks of identity theft, helping consumers who fall victim to fraud, and preventing identity theft in the future, financial institutions can take an effective approach to identity risk management and ensure that their business is protected and their consumers stay safe. Recognizing risks of identity theft Identifying high-risk situations Inform consumers about high-risk situations that could lead to identity theft. Emphasize the dangers of data breaches, cyber-attacks, phishing scams, and social engineering tactics. Advise them to be cautious with personal documents and to avoid using public Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions. By raising awareness, financial institutions can help consumers stay vigilant. Risk-based authentication solutions can also help minimize risk with adaptive authentication methods. With sophisticated risk assessment and a combination of front- and back-end authentication methods, organizations can optimize the consumer experience and their identity risk management simultaneously. Protecting vulnerable information Guide consumers on safeguarding their most vulnerable information. Explain the importance of protecting Social Security numbers, credit card and bank account details, PINs, passwords, and medical records. Offer tips on securing this information and the potential consequences of it falling into the wrong hands. Providing practical advice, such as using password managers, enabling multifactor authentication, and regularly updating passwords, can significantly enhance your consumers’ security. Additionally, offering secure storage solutions for sensitive documents can further protect their information. Helping consumers who fall victim to fraud Providing immediate support If a consumer falls victim to identity theft, financial institutions should be ready to provide immediate support. Establish a clear protocol for reporting fraud and ensure that consumer service representatives are trained to handle such situations. Assist consumers in contacting their banks and credit card companies to report fraud and prevent further unauthorized transactions. Having a dedicated fraud response team can streamline this process and provide consumers with the reassurance that their issue is being handled by experts. This team can also offer personalized advice and support, making the recovery process less daunting for the victim. Helping restore identity To support consumers in the process of restoring their identity, financial institutions can offer identity restoration services as part of their consumer support. These services can include helping consumers navigate the complexities of repairing their credit, disputing fraudulent charges, and securing their accounts against future threats. Preventing identity theft in the future Enhancing personal security measures Encourage consumers to strengthen their personal security measures. Promote the use of strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA) for all accounts. Advise them to regularly update and patch their software and devices. Offer services like secure document shredding to prevent thieves from accessing sensitive information. Financial institutions can also strengthen their identity risk management efforts by implementing robust security measures within their own systems. Demonstrating a commitment to security can build trust and encourage consumers to adopt similar practices. Implementing monitoring and alerts Financial institutions can offer identity theft protection services that include regular monitoring of credit reports and account alerts for suspicious activities. Educate consumers on the importance of closely monitoring their financial statements and bills to detect any unauthorized transactions early. Providing tools such as mobile apps that offer real-time alerts for suspicious activities can empower consumers to take immediate action if something seems amiss. Additionally, offering complimentary credit monitoring services can add an extra layer of protection. Leveraging data Data and analytics are among the most powerful tools at a financial institution’s disposal. By leveraging advanced analytics, institutions can identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate fraudulent activity. Machine learning algorithms can analyze vast amounts of transaction data in real- time, flagging suspicious behavior before it escalates into fraud. This proactive approach not only helps in early detection but also minimizes the impact on the consumer. Moreover, data analytics can streamline and improve the consumer experience by reducing false positives and ensuring that legitimate transactions are not unnecessarily flagged. This balance between security and convenience is crucial in maintaining consumer trust and satisfaction. Financial institutions can use these insights to tailor their fraud prevention strategies, using digital identity management solutions to provide more value to consumers. Behavioral analytics Fraud detection technology, such as behavioral analytics, is continually evolving as hacking methods become increasingly sophisticated. Insights from behavioral analytics can help mitigate fraud in real time and prevent identity theft, account takeover, and bot attacks — empowering businesses to provide a seamless consumer experience. Experian’s recent acquisition of NeuroID, an industry leader in behavioral analytics, means we now offer even more modern and frictionless capabilities, enhancing our fraud risk suite by providing a new layer of insight into digital behavioral signals and analytics throughout the consumer lifecycle. This additional level of defense against fraud can empower businesses to ensure that their consumers are safe and secure online. Identity management solutions Consumers are more at risk of identity theft than ever before, and it’s the responsibility of financial institutions to provide protection and support to the people they do business with. Offering identity management solutions can help organizations feel safe and secure about their consumer and business data without adding friction or functioning outside of their risk tolerance. Experian’s identity management tools allow financial institutions to confirm the identities of businesses and consumers with minimal friction, balancing end-user experience with enhanced security. This allows organizations to easily manage authentication events with confidence. Next steps Financial institutions have a vital role in helping consumers manage their risk of identity theft. By recognizing vulnerabilities, providing support to victims, and implementing preventive measures, financial institutions can protect their consumers’ personal information and financial well-being. Proactive identity risk management not only benefits consumers but also builds trust and loyalty with your brand. Protect your business from identity fraud today. Discover how Experian’s cutting-edge identity risk management solutions can safeguard your consumers and streamline your operations. Learn more about our identity management solutions This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information. [1] IdentityTheft.org. 2024 Identity Theft Facts and Statistics.

This article was updated on February 23, 2024. First impressions are always important – whether it’s for a job interview, a first date or when pitching a client. The same goes for financial services onboarding as it’s an opportunity for organizations to foster lifetime loyalty with customers. As a result, financial institutions are on the hunt now more than ever for frictionless online identity verification methods to validate genuine customers and maintain positive experiences during the online onboarding process. In a predominantly digital-first world, financial companies are increasingly focused on the customer experience and creating the most seamless online onboarding process. However, according to Experian’s 2023 Identity and Fraud Report, more than half of U.S. consumers considered dropping out during account opening due to friction and a less-than positive experience. And as technology continues to advance, digital financial services onboarding, not surprisingly, increases the demand for fraud protection and authentication methods – namely with digital identity (ID) verification processes. According to Experian’s report, 64% of consumers are very or somewhat concerned with online security, with identity theft being their top concern. So how can financial institutions guarantee a frictionless online onboarding experience while executing proper authentication methods and maintaining security and fraud detection? The answer? While a “frictionless” experience can seem like a bit of a unicorn, there are some ways to get close: Utilizing better data - Digital devices offer an extensive amount of data that’s useful in determining risk. Characteristics that allow the identification of a specific device, the behaviors associated with the device and information about a device’s owner can be captured without adding friction for the user. Analytics – Once the data is collected, advanced analytics uses information based on behavioral data, digital intelligence, phone intelligence and email intelligence to analyze for risk. While there’s friction in the initial ask for the input data, the risk prediction improves with more data. Document verification and biometric identity verification – Real-time document verification used in conjunction with facial biometrics, behavioral biometrics and other physical characteristics allows for rapid onboarding and helps to maintain a low friction customer journey. Financial institutions can utilize document verification to replace manual long-form applications for rapid onboarding and immediately verify new data at the point of entry. Using their mobile phones, consumers can photograph and upload identity documents to pre-fill applications. Document authenticity can be verified in real-time. Biometrics, including facial, behavioral, or other physical characteristics (like fingerprints), are low-touch methods of customer authentication that can be used synchronously with document verification. Optimize your financial services onboarding process Experian understands how critical identity management and fraud protection is when it comes to the online onboarding process and identity verification. That’s why we created layered digital identity verification and risk segmentation solutions to help legitimize your customers with confidence while improving the customer experience. Our identity verification solutions use advanced technology and capabilities to correctly identify and verify real customers while mitigating fraud and maintaining frictionless customer experiences. Learn more

This article was updated on February 5, 2024. Identity management can refer to how a company creates, verifies, stores, and uses its customers' digital identities. Traditionally, many large organizations relied on a highly segmented and siloed approach. For example, marketing, risk, and support departments might each have a limited view of a customer, and the tools and systems that support their specific purpose. Organizations are now shifting to a more holistic approach to enterprise identity management. By working together, departments help contribute to building a more complete, single view of a customer. Some companies have renewed or increased their focus on the transformation during the pandemic, and the transition to an enterprise-wide identity management strategy can have long-lasting benefits. But it isn't always easy. Challenges of an enterprise-wide identity management strategy Gathering the initial momentum needed to break out of a siloed approach can be particularly challenging for large organizations when each business unit has an ingrained identity system that meets the unit's needs. Smaller organizations might have an easier time gathering consensus, but budget or technological limitations may be serious constraints. Even after a decision is made and the budget gets set aside, organizations need to think through how they'll create and manage a new enterprise-wide identity management system. It's not a one-and-done upgrade. For the strategy to succeed, you'll need to have processes in place to onboard, verify, secure, and activate the new digital identities. READ: What is Effective Multifactor Identity Authentication? Why use an enterprise-wide approach? Motivations and specifics can vary depending on an organization's size and structure, but some companies find a more holistic approach to customer identity management helps them: Improve customer experiences Save money by removing redundancies Boost sales with better-targeted marketing Better understand customers' needs Provide faster and more relevant support Make more informed decisions Detect and prevent fraud These benefits can play out across the entire customer lifecycle, and identity management systems are able to achieve this by pulling in data from various sources to build robust consumer identities and systems. Your internal, first-party data will be the most valuable and insightful, but you can append multidimensional data from third-party sources, such as consumer credit databases, demographic data or device data. And second-party data from partner brands or organizations. READ: Experian 2023 Identity and Fraud Report Consider the regulatory and security challenges An enterprise identity data management approach can also mean re-evaluating the applicable regulations and security challenges. The passage of the E.U.'s General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act marked an important shift in how companies need to handle consumers' personal information — but that was only the start. Some U.S. states have also passed or are currently considering data privacy laws. Industry-specific regulations can apply as well, particularly in the healthcare and financial services industries. It's not as if a siloed approach lets an organization avoid regulation, but keeping current and upcoming laws in mind can be important during a large digital transformation. Additionally, consider how going beyond the minimum requirements could be beneficial. In a 2023 Experian white paper, we found that 61 percent of consumers want complete control over how companies use their personal data.1 Security also needs to be top of mind for any organization that collects and stores consumers' personal information. An enterprise-wide identity management system may make managing increasing amounts of data easier, which could help decrease fraud risks. And your customers may be willing to help — 67 percent are open to sharing data if it will increase security and help prevent fraud.2 Keeping customers' desires front and center Experian partnered with Aite-Novarica to study enterprise-wide identity management. All but one of the 12 executives interviewed said client experience is a primary or predominant driver in the transformation of their identity management programs.3 Once implemented, a holistic view of customers can increase the experience in many ways: Meaningful engagement: You can deliver relevant and timely offers if you understand when, where and why consumers are interested in your products and services. Similarly, you'll know who isn't a good fit and won't bother them (or waste money) by showing them ads. Verification: Using a single, persistent identity could make the initial and ongoing identity verification an easier process that doesn't disrupt consumers' lives or lead to frustration. Ongoing recognition: Nearly 70 percent of all consumers want businesses to recognize them across multiple visits.3 But you'll need to study your customers to determine how much friction is acceptable. Some people prefer security over convenience and are willing to trade a little time to use extra verification methods. Customer service: Having more insight into a customer's entire history and interactions with your organization can help you quickly respond when an issue arises, or even anticipate and solve potential problems. Security: Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of consumers say they're very or somewhat concerned with online security.4 Companies that can quickly and accurately identify consumers can also help keep them safe from fraud and identity theft. While these may be some consumers' top concerns today, continue listening to your customers to better understand their wants and needs. WATCH: Webinar: Identity Evolved — Building consumer trust and engagement Implementing an enterprise-wide identity management strategy Identity management can become a daunting task, particularly as new data sources begin to flow. As a result, many organizations turn to outside partners who can help manage part, or all, of the process. For example, an identity management solution may offer identity resolution and help create and host an identity graph (the database that stores the unique digital identities). A more robust offering may also help with other parts of identity management, including ongoing data hygiene and helping you turn your unique customer insights into actionable marketing campaigns. Experience managing vast amounts of data is also important, as is access to additional offline and online data sources. In 2023, Experian found that 85 percent of companies said poor quality customer contact data negatively impacted their operation's processes and efficiency.5 An enterprise-wide system that allows business units to update a single customer profile with the latest contact information might help. But working with a data provider that appends the latest info from outside databases could be a better way to ensure you have customers' latest contact info. When researching potential partners, also consider how their offerings and approach align with your goals. If, like others, improving the customer experience is a priority, make sure the solution provider also has a customer-first approach. In turn, this means security is a top priority — it's what customers want and it's important for protecting you and your reputation. Learn more about Experian's identity management solutions and how you can benefit from working with a company that understands identities are personal. Learn more 1Experian (2023). White paper: Making identities personal 2Ibid. 3Aite-Novarica and Experian (2022). Enterprise Identity Management: Evolving Aspirations and Improved Collaboration Are Transforming the Discipline 4Experian (2023). Identity and Fraud Report 5Experian (2023). White paper: Making identities personal

Financial institutions, merchants, and e-commerce platforms are no strangers to fraud, especially in the realm of payments. With the rise of digital currency, fraudsters are becoming more inventive, making it increasingly difficult to detect and prevent payment fraud. In this blog post, we discuss payment fraud and ways to protect your organization and your customers. What is payment fraud? Payment fraud occurs when someone uses false or stolen payment information to make a purchase or transaction. The most common types of payment fraud include: Phishing: Through emails or text messages, scammers disguise themselves as trustworthy sources to lure recipients into sharing their personal information, such as account passwords and credit card numbers. Card not present fraud: This type of fraud is one of the most challenging forms of payment fraud to detect and prevent. It occurs when a criminal uses a stolen or compromised credit card to make a purchase online, in-person, or by other means where the card is not physically present at the time of the transaction. Account takeover fraud: This type of fraud occurs when fraudsters gain unauthorized access to an individual’s account and carry out fraudulent transactions. They take over accounts by gathering and using personal or financial details to impersonate their victims. The rise of online payment fraud Online payments have become a prime destination for fraudsters as more consumers choose to store card details and make purchases digitally. As a result, consumers believe that it’s the responsibility of businesses to protect them online. If there’s a lack of trust and safety, consumers will have no problem switching providers, leading to declines in customer loyalty and monetary losses for organizations. No matter the type of payment fraud, it can result in devastating consequences for your organization and your customers. According to Experian’s 2024 U.S. Identity and Fraud Report, fraud scams and bank fraud schemes resulted in more than $458 billion in losses globally. On the consumer side, 52 million Americans had fraudulent charges on their credit or debit cards, with unauthorized purchases exceeding $5 billion. Given these findings, it’s more important than ever to implement robust online payment fraud detection and prevention measures. How can payment fraud be detected and prevented? Approaches to payment fraud detection and prevention have evolved over time. Some of the current and emerging trends include: Additional layers of security: Security measures like two-factor authentication, a CVV code, and a billing zip code can help verify a customer’s identity and make it more difficult for fraudsters to complete a transaction. Enhanced identity verification: A credit card owner verification solution, like Experian LinkTM, matches the customer identity with the credit card being presented for payment, allowing businesses to make better decisions, reduce false declines, and protect legitimate customers. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning: AI-powered models and machine learning algorithms can identify patterns consistent with fraudulent activity in real time, resulting in proactive fraud prevention and reduced financial losses. Behavioral analytics: Using behavioral analytics to monitor user behavior, such as how they navigate a website or interact with the payment process, can help identify inconsistencies and potential fraud. Token-based authentication: Tokenization protects card information by replacing sensitive data with a unique identifier (token), which makes data breaches less damaging. How Experian can help As the payments landscape continues to evolve, so do fraudsters. Experian offers a wide range of payment fraud analytics, account takeover fraud prevention and fraud management solutions that allow you to better detect and prevent payment fraud. Your organization’s reputation and your customers’ trust shouldn’t be compromised. To learn more, visit us today. Learn more This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information.

This article was updated on April 23, 2024. Keeping your organization and consumers safe can be challenging as cybercriminals test new attack vectors and data breaches continually expose credentials. Instead of relying solely on usernames and passwords for user identity verification, adding extra security measures like multi-factor authentication can strengthen your defense. What is multi-factor authentication? Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, is a method of authenticating people using more than one type of identifier. Generally, you can put these identifiers into three categories based on the type of information: Something a person knows: Usernames, passwords, and personal information are common examples of identifiers from this category. Something a person has: These could include a phone, computer, card, badge, security key, or another type of physical device that someone possesses. Something a person is: Also called the inherence factor, these are intrinsic behaviors or qualities, such as a person's voice pattern, retina, or fingerprint. The key to MFA is it requires someone to use identifiers from different categories. For example, when you withdraw money from an ATM, you're using something you have (your ATM card or phone), and something you know (your PIN) or are (biometric data) to authenticate yourself. Common types of authenticators Organizations that want to implement multi-factor authentication can use different combinations of identifiers and authenticators. Some authenticator options include: One-time passwords: One-time passwords (OTPs) can be generated and sent to someone's mobile phone via text to confirm the person has the phone or via email. There are also security tokens and apps that can generate OTPs for authentication. (Something you know.) Knowledge-based authentication: Knowledge-based authentication (KBA) identity verification leverages the ability to verify account information or a payment card, “something you have,” by confirming some sequence of numbers from the account. (Something you know.) Security tokens: Devices that users plug into their phone or computer, or hold near the device, to authenticate themselves. (Something you have.) Biometric scans: These can include fingerprint and face scans from a mobile device, computer, or security token. (Something you are.) Why MFA is important It can be challenging to keep your users and employees from using weak passwords. And even if you enforce strict password requirements, you can't be sure they're not using the same password somewhere else or accidentally falling for a phishing attack. In short, if you want to protect users' data and your business from various types of attacks, such as account takeover fraud, synthetic identity fraud, and credential stuffing, you’ll need to require more than a username and password to authenticate users. That’s where MFA comes in. Because it uses a combination of elements to verify a consumer’s identity, if one of the required components in a transaction is missing or supplied incorrectly, the transaction won’t proceed. As a result, you can ensure you’re interacting with legitimate consumers and protect your organization from risk. LEARN MORE: Explore our fraud prevention solutions. How to provide a frictionless MFA experience While crucial to your organization, in-person and online identity verification shouldn’t create so much friction that legitimate consumers are driven away. Experian's 2023 U.S. Identity and Fraud Report found that 96 percent of consumers view OTPs as convenient identity verification solutions when opening a new account. An increasing number of consumers also view physical and behavioral biometrics as some of the most trustworthy recognition methods — 81 and 76 percent, respectively. To create a low friction MFA experience that consumers trust, you could let users choose from different MFA authentication options to secure their accounts. You can also create step-up rules that limit MFA requests to riskier situations — such as when a user logs in from a new device or places an unusually large order. To make the MFA experience even more seamless for consumers, consider adding automated identity verification (AIV) to your processes. Because AIV operates on advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, consumers can verify their identities within seconds without physical documentation, allowing for a quick, hassle-free verification experience. How Experian powers multi-factor authentication Experian offers various identity verification and risk-based authentication solutions that organizations can leverage to streamline and secure their operations, including: Experian’s CrossCore® Doc Capture confidently verifies identities using a fully supported end-to-end document verification service where consumers upload an image of a driver’s license, passport, or similar directly from their smartphone. Experian’s CrossCore Doc Capture adds another layer of security to document capture with a biometric component that enables the individual to upload a “selfie” that’s compared to the document image. Experian's OTP service uses additional verification checks and identity scoring to help prevent fraudsters from using a SIM swapping attack to get past an MFA check. Before sending the OTP, we verify that the number is linked to the consumer's name. We also review additional attributes, such as whether the number was recently ported and the account's tenure. Experian's Knowledge IQSM offers KBA with over 70 credit- and noncredit-based questions to help you engage in additional authentication for consumers when sufficiently robust data can be used to prompt a response that proves the person has something specific in their possession. You can even configure it to ask questions based on your internal data and phrase questions to match your brand's language. Learn more about how our multi-factor authentication solutions can help your organization verify consumer identities and mitigate fraud. Learn about our MFA solutions

  Managing digital identities is a necessity, responsibility and privilege. When done right, digital identity management solutions can help consumers feel recognized and safe. In turn, companies can build strong and personalized relationships with their customers while complying with regulatory requirements and combating hydra-like fraud attacks. What is digital identity? The concept and definition of a digital identity have expanded as everyday interactions increasingly happen in digital realms. Today, a digital identity is more than an online account. Identities can be created and depend on all the digital information associated with a unique entity, which may be a person, business or device. A person's digital identity often includes online and offline attributes that fall into one of three categories: Something a user knows, such as a username, password or PIN. Something a user has, such as a mobile phone or security token. Something that's part of the user, such as a fingerprint, iris, voice pattern, behavior or preferences. People are increasingly open to sharing this type of personal information if it serves a purpose. Our Global Identity and Fraud Report found that 57 percent of consumers are willing to share data if it ensures greater security or prevents fraud, and 63 percent of consumers think sharing data is beneficial (up from 51 percent in 2021).1 People can also use these identifiers to verify their identity at a later point. But digital identity verification tools should rely on more than user-provided verification alone. A person may have hundreds or thousands of digital interactions every day, and these can leave digital footprints that you can use to create or expand digital identities. These types of identifiers — such as search queries, geotags, behaviors and device information — can also help you authenticate a user and offer a more customized and seamless experience. However, when focusing on consumers' digital identities, it's important to remember that their identity is more than the sum of data points. A person's digital identity is unique and personal, and it should be managed accordingly. The business side's challenges A discussion of what makes up an identity can quickly turn philosophical. For instance, you can't authenticate identical twins based on a face scan or DNA test, so what is it that makes them unique? In some ways, the example gets to the heart of businesses' challenges today. To create a safe and enjoyable online identity verification experience, you need to be able to distinguish between a real person and an imitator, even when the two look nearly identical. Access to more information can make this easier, but you then need to ensure that you can keep this information secure. It can be a tricky balance, but if you get it right, your efforts will be rewarded. People want to be recognized as they move across channels and devices, and organizations want to be able to quickly and accurately identify users with a friction-right experience that also helps prevent fraud. However, while 84 percent of businesses say recognizing customers is "very" or "extremely" important, only about 33 percent of consumers are confident that they'll be repeatedly recognized online.1 There's a clear gap — and an opportunity to better meet customers' desires. Organizations across industries know they need a customer recognition strategy and 82% already have one in place.2 Some businesses address this challenge with identity platforms that are standardized and interoperable. Standardization allows the platform to gather and store the growing influx of data that it can use as part of a digital identity strategy. Interoperability allows the platform to match different types of data, including physical data, with a person to verify their digital identity and avoid the creation of duplicate identities. In short, the platforms can make sense of increasingly large amounts of internal and external data and easily incorporate new data sources as they become available. Regulatory compliance and digital identity Navigating the regulatory landscape is a significant challenge for organizations dealing with digital identities. Compliance is not only necessary for legal reasons but also critical to maintaining customer trust and safeguarding institutional reputation. Organizations must stay informed about the regulatory frameworks that affect digital identity, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other pertinent laws in jurisdictions they operate. These regulations dictate how personal data can be collected, stored, used and shared. Staying ahead of regulatory changes: Regulatory landscapes are dynamic, particularly concerning digital data. Organizations should engage with policymakers and participate in industry forums to  stay ahead of changes. By proactively managing compliance, organizations can avoid costly penalties, operational disruptions and reputational damage. The consumer's perspective Some organizations are adopting a consumer-centric approach to digital identity that puts consumers' needs and desires first. These can broadly be broken into four categories: Security: While people want a seamless and personalized experience, security and privacy are listed as top concerns year after year.1 That might not be surprising given that data breaches continually make headlines and there are growing concerns over identity theft. Privacy: Security is related to privacy, but privacy means more than keeping consumers' information safe from hackers. Our April 2022 Global Insight Report found that 90 percent of consumers want some or complete control over how their personal data is used. 3 Recognition: People want to be continually recognized once they share and verify their identity, even if they move between devices or channels. And nearly 70 percent of consumers say it's important for businesses to recognize them across multiple visits.1 Inclusion: Consumers may have varying levels of access to technology, comfort with technology and access to physical identifiers. Creating digital identity solutions for these potential barriers can also increase financial inclusion. While these are all areas of focus, organizations also need to find the right fit for each person and interaction. For instance, consumers may expect and even appreciate a robust verification process when they're opening a new financial account. But they could quickly be turned off by a similar process if they're making a small purchase or trying to play a new online game. What to look for in a digital identity partner Digital identity solutions and services have grown increasingly sophisticated to meet today's challenges. Identity hubs and data orchestration engines can connect with multiple services to help create, resolve, verify and authenticate identities. By moving away from a siloed approach, businesses can offer customers a better experience while minimizing their risk throughout the customer journey. When comparing potential partners, look for a company that: Has a customer-first approach: If your business is customer-first, then you need a partner who has a similar view. Uses multidimensional data: The partner should be able to offer and use offline and digital data sources to resolve, verify and authenticate digital identities. Its capabilities may become increasingly important as new data sources emerge. Isn't afraid to innovate: Look into how the partner is testing and using the latest advancements, such as artificial intelligence, in its digital identity solutions. Protects your brand: Understand how the partner helps detect and prevent fraud while creating a seamless experience for your customers and protecting their data. The right partner can increase your bottom line, help you build trust and improve your brand's reputation. Learn more about Experian Identity, an integrated approach to digital identity that builds on Experian's decades of experience managing and securing identifying information. Learn more 1“2022 Global Identity and Fraud Report: Building digital consumer trust amidst rising fraud activity and concerns," Experian, June 2022 2“2021 Global Identity and Fraud Report: Protecting and enabling customer engagements in the new digital era," Experian, April 2021. https://www.experian.com/content/dam/marketing/na/global-da/pdfs/GIDFR_2022.pdf https://www.experian.co.th/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Experian-Global-Identity-Fraud-Report-2021.pdf 3"Global Insights Report: April 2022," Experian, April 2022. https://www.experian.com/blogs/global-insights/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WaveReportApril2022.pdf *This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information.

This article was originally published on multifamilyinsiders.com One of the challenges currently facing the rental housing industry is the amount of lease application fraud. An Entrata study found a 111% increase in lease application fraud between 2019 and 2020. In the same study, 55% of surveyed apartment managers and rental operators said their properties experience fraudulent lease application attempts every few months, and 15% said their communities were subjected to multiple attempts each month. One-third of respondents described themselves as "very concerned" about application fraud. Just as alarming as the rise in attempts is the apparent likelihood of success. In the study, 65% of apartment managers said they are not confident in their current fraud prevention efforts. Some applicants can use a range of tools to commit fraud such as fake pay stubs, bank statements, employment records, and other falsified documents. Unfortunately, readily available computer technology makes it all too easy for applicants to produce these falsified documents. Tools to fight against fraud Apartment communities that rely on an overly manual screening process may find themselves at a disadvantage in the current landscape. Relying on associates to manually verify things like income and employment history can increase the risk of a deceitful applicant being successful. In addition, these processes can be extraordinarily time-consuming, which means leasing associates have less bandwidth for their many other important duties and responsibilities. Not to mention, the units stay unoccupied while these time-consuming verifications are being done manually. Among the general screening technologies that operators should consider: Automated verification of income, assets and employment — These solutions eliminate the need for operators to collect this kind of documentation from applicants. Furthermore, it eliminates the opportunity for applicants to supply falsified supporting documentation. Frictionless authentication — A multi-layered identity verification process for those applying for rental housing, frictionless authentication detects the subtle and not-so-subtle signs that an applicant is, to one degree or another, using a false identity. By highlighting discrepancies, the process assigns a “score” to quantify the likelihood that misrepresentation is taking place. Additional confirmation of the applicant’s identity can be completed using a one-time passcode (OTP) or knowledge-based authentication (KBA). This technology also uses device intelligence to recognize the risks associated with the physical devices (such as computers, tablets, and smartphones) that consumers use for online applications to identify potential imposters. In today's landscape, apartment owners and operators need to make sure they're protecting themselves against fraudulent applicants, who may not fulfill their financial obligations as outlined in their leases. By embracing the ever-growing array of advanced screening tools and technologies, owners and operators can achieve that protection and reduce their risk significantly — and save their associates time and energy.

Trust is the primary factor in any business building a long-lasting relationship, especially when a company operates globally and wants to build a loyal customer base. With the rapid acceleration of digital shopping and transactions comes a growing fraud landscape. And, given the continual increase of people wanting to transact online, marketplace companies – from ecommerce apps, ridesharing, to rental companies – need to have ideal strategies in place to protect themselves and their customers from fraudulent activities. Without ideal risk mitigation or comprehensive fraud and identity proofing strategies, marketplaces may find themselves facing the following: Card-not-present (CNP) Fraud: As online shopping increases, customers can’t provide a credit card directly to the merchant. That’s why fraudsters can use stolen credit card information to make unauthorized transactions. And in most cases, card owners are unaware of being compromised. Without an integrated view of risk, existing credit card authentication services used in isolation can result in high false positives, friction and a lack of card issuer support. Unverified Consumer Members, Vendors, Hosts & Drivers: From digital marketplace merchants like Etsy and Amazon, to peer-to-peer sharing economies like AirBnB, Uber and Lyft, the marketplace ecosystem is prone to bad actors who use false ID techniques to exploit both the platform and consumers for monetary gain. Additionally, card transaction touchpoints across the customer lifecycle increases risks of credit card authentication. This can be at account opening, account management when changes to existing account information is necessary, or at checkout. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Muling: While a convenient way for consumers to plan for their purchases, experts warn that without cautionary and security measures, BNPL can be a target for digital fraud. Fraudsters may use their own or fabricated identities or leverage account takeover to gain access to a legitimate user’s account and payment information to make purchases with no intent to repay. This leaves the BNPL provider at the risk of unrecoverable monetary losses that can impact the business’ risk tolerance. Forged Listings & Fake Accounts: Unauthorized vendors that create a fake account using falsified identities, stolen credit cards and publish fake listings and product reviews are another threat faced by ecommerce marketplaces. These types of fraud can happen without the vast data sources necessary to assess the risk of a customer and authenticate credit cards among other fraud and identity verification solutions. By not focusing on establishing trust, fraud mitigation management solutions and identity proofing strategies, businesses can often find themselves with serious monetary, reputational, and security qualms. Interested in learning more? Download Experian’s Building Trust in Digital Marketplaces e-book and discover the strategies digital marketplaces, like the gig economy and peer-to-peer markets, can take to keep their users safe, and protected from fraudulent activity. For additional information on how Experian is helping businesses mitigate fraud, explore our comprehensive suite of identity and fraud solutions. Download e-book

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.

Financial institutions have gone through a whirlwind in the last few years, with the pandemic forcing many to undergo digital transformations. More recently, rising interest rates and economic uncertainty are leading to a pullback, highlighting the need for lenders to level up their marketing strategies to win new customers. To get started, here are a few key trends to look out for in the new year and fresh marketing ideas for lenders. Challenges and consumers expectations in 2023 It might be cliche to mention the impact that the pandemic had on digital transformations — but that doesn't make it any less true. Consumers now expect a straightforward online experience. And while they may be willing to endure a slightly more manual process for certain purchases in their life, that's not always necessary. Lenders are investing in front-end platforms and behind-the-scenes technology to offer borrowers faster and more intuitive services. For example, A McKinsey report from December 2021 highlighted the growth in nonbank mortgage lenders. It suggested nonbank lenders could hold onto and may continue taking market share as these tech-focused lenders create convenient, fast and transparent processes for borrowers.2 Marketers can take these new expectations to heart when discussing their products and services. To the extent you have one in place, highlight the digital experience that you can offer borrowers throughout the application, verifications, closing and loan servicing. You can also try to show rather than tell with interactive online content and videos. Build a data-driven mortgage lending marketing strategy The McKinsey report also highlighted a trend in major bank and nonbank lenders investing in proprietary and third-party technology and data to improve the customer experience.2 Marketers can similarly turn to a data-driven credit marketing strategy to help navigate shifting lending environments. Segment prospects with multidimensional data Successful marketers can incorporate the latest technological and multidimensional data sources to find, track and reach high-value prospects. By combining traditional credit data with marketing data and Fair Credit Report Act-compliant alternative credit data* (or expanded FCRA-regulated data), you can increase the likelihood of connecting with consumers who meet your credit criteria and will likely respond. For example, Experian's mortgage-specific In the Market Models predict a consumer's propensity to open a new mortgage within a one to four-month period based on various inputs, including trended credit data and Premier Attributes. You can use these propensity models as part of your prescreen criteria, to cross-sell current customers and to help retain customers who might be considering a new lender. But propensity models are only part of the equation, especially when you're trying to extend your marketing budget with hyper-segmented campaigns. Incorporating your internal CRM data and non-FCRA data can help you further distinguish look-alike populations and help you customize your messaging. LEARN MORE: Use this checklist to find and fix gaps in your prospecting strategy Maintain a single view of your borrowers An identity management platform can give you a single view of a consumer as they move through the customer journey. The persistent identity can also help you consistently reach consumers in a post-cookie world and contact them using their preferred channel. You can add to the persistent identity as you learn more about your prospects. However, you need to maintain data accuracy and integrity if you want to get a good ROI. Use triggers to guide your outreach You can also use data-backed credit triggers to implement your marketing plan. Experian's Prospect Triggers actively monitors a nationwide database to identify credit-active consumers who have new tradelines, inquiries or a loan nearing term. Lenders using Prospect Triggers can receive real-time or periodic updates and customize the results based on their screening strategy and criteria, such as score ranges and attributes. They can then make firm credit offers to the prospects who are most likely to respond, which can improve cross-selling opportunities along with originations. Benefit from our expertise Forward-thinking lenders should power their marketing strategies with a data-backed approach to incorporate the latest information from internal and external sources and reach the right customer at the right time and place. From list building to identity management and verification, you can turn to Experian to access the latest data and analytics tools. Learn about Experian credit prescreen and marketing solutions. Explore our credit prescreen solutions Learn about our marketing solutions 1Mortgage Bankers Association (October 2022). Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey 2McKinsey & Company (2021). Five trends reshaping the US home mortgage industry

Last year, my wife and I decided to take advantage of Experian’s remote-work policy and move back to my hometown, so we could be closer to family and friends. As excited as we were, the idea of selling and buying a home during the market frenzy was a little intimidating. Surprisingly, finding a home wasn’t our challenge. We lucked out and found what we were looking for in the exact neighborhood we wanted. Our biggest challenge was timing. Our goal was to sell our current home and immediately move into the new one, with no overlap of payments or having to put our belongings in storage while we temporarily stayed with family (or in a short-term rental). Once we sold our home, we had exactly 30 days to close on our new home and move in. Since this wasn’t our first rodeo, I felt confident all would go smoothly. Things were on schedule until it came time to verify our income and employment. Who knew something so simple could be so hard? Let me share my experience with you (crossing my fingers you have a smoother experience in place for your borrowers): Pay statements — I was initially asked to provide pay statements for the previous two months. Simple enough for most borrowers, but it does require accessing your employer payroll system, downloading multiple pay statements and then either uploading them to your lender portal or emailing them to your loan officer (which no borrower should be asked to do). This took me less than 30 minutes to pull together. Verification report — After reviewing my pay statements, my lender told me they needed an official verification report on my current and previous employers. At the time, Experian had just acquired Corporate Cost Control (now part of Experian Employer Services), a company that offers verification-fulfillment services for employees, employers and verifiers. I told my lender I could provide the verification report via Corporate Cost Control and they agreed it would be sufficient. This took me several days to figure out. HR information — Just when I thought we were good, I received an email from my lender asking for one last thing — the HR contact information of my current and previous employers. Obtaining this information from Experian was easy, but I didn’t know where to start with my previous employer. I ended up texting some former colleagues to get the information I needed. This too took several days to figure out. Finally, I got the call from my lender saying everything checked out and I was good to proceed with the underwriting process. Whew! What I thought would take 30 minutes ended up taking a full week and threatened our ability to close on time. And not to mention was a massive headache for me personally. This isn’t how you want your borrowers to feel, which brings me to the title of this blog, it’s 2022, why is mortgage employment verification so painful in today’s digital age? Other industries have figured out how to remove pain and friction from their user experiences? Why is the mortgage industry lagging? Mortgage employment verification made easy If it’s lack of awareness, you should know there are tools that can automate verification decisions. Experian Verify™ is a perfect example where mortgage lenders can instantly verify a borrower’s income and employment information (both current and previous employers), without needing to ask the borrower to track down pay statements or HR contact information. You can literally verify information in seconds — not hours, days, or weeks.  And the service supports Day 1 Certainty® from Fannie Mae — giving you increased peace of mind the data is accurate and trusted. This not only improves the borrower experience but increases efficiency with your loan officers. Tools like Experian Verify are a win-win for you and your borrowers. So, what are you waiting for? Modernize your experience and give your borrowers (like me) the frictionless experience they deserve, and if we’re being honest, are starting to demand. Learn more about income and employment verification for mortgage    

From desktops and laptops to smartphones and tablets, consumers leverage multiple devices when engaging with businesses. For financial institutions, it’s important to identify and track consumers across devices to deliver personalized offers and increase opportunities for conversion. The problem with cookies Marketers have traditionally used cookies to determine what their audience’s interests are based on their browsing activity and past purchases. An example of this is when a user browses a product on a website and then leaves without buying. Later that day, they see an ad on social media featuring the same product they viewed earlier. While this may seem like an effective way for financial institutions to target or prescreen consumers, cookies are very limited — they can’t capture or connect a user’s behavior across multiple touchpoints. In other words, if a consumer were to browse a website on their mobile phone and then switch to their laptop, the business would view these sessions as two different visits from two different people, resulting in inconsistent messaging and a disjointed user experience. This is a huge problem because devices don’t decide to convert — people do. To reach the right consumers with the right message wherever they may be, financial institutions must look beyond cookies. This is where people-based marketing comes in. What is people-based marketing? People-based marketing takes a more personal marketing approach. Rather than targeting devices, people-based marketing connects businesses with real people, helping them understand who their customers are, what they’re looking for and how to engage them in more meaningful ways. It does this by gathering customer data from both online and offline sources to create a single customer profile. Let’s look at an example of people-based marketing by revisiting the scenario above. A user is browsing a company’s website on their mobile phone and decides to switch to their laptop. By capturing a single view of the user with a people-based marketing solution, the brand can recognize them and resume their experience on the new device. What’s more, the brand understands the user’s intent at that stage of their customer journey and leverages real-time data to make relevant offers and recommendations, helping further personalize their experience. Benefits of a people-based marketing approach To create better-targeted credit marketing campaigns, financial institutions must ensure they have the right data and technologies in place. Experian’s industry-leading database technology provides the freshest, most comprehensive consumer credit data to help organizations optimize their lending criteria and marketing campaigns. With Experian’s people-based marketing solutions, financial institutions can: Reach the right people: Leveraging fresh consumer data allows financial institutions to target the best prospects for their business needs and avoid making preapproved offers to nonqualified consumers. Deliver personalized credit offers: By gaining a more complete view of consumers, financial institutions can ensure they’re sending relevant offers to users where and when they’re most motivated to respond. Enhance their retargeting efforts: If a user isn’t ready to convert upon their first interaction, organizations can reach them on another device to reinforce their messaging in more personalized ways. Provide frictionless, omnichannel experiences: Seamless identity resolution allows organizations to accurately recognize consumers across devices, leading to more precise targeting and cohesive customer experiences. Reduce marketing spend: By focusing on the right audience with the right message, organizations can avoid unlikely prospects and reduce wasted marketing spend, all while increasing response rates. Expand their reach: With rich insights into their clients’ interests, demographics and behaviors, financial institutions can target prospects who share similar characteristics and are likely to convert. Leveraging an effective people-based marketing strategy is crucial to delivering personalized and consistent customer experiences in today’s multi-device world. To learn more about how Experian can help, visit us today. Learn about our people-based marketing solutions

“As an industry, fintech is known for creating compelling and personalized online journeys. But that experience can suffer if the fraud-prevention routines are perceived as burdensome by consumers,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer for Experian’s Decision Analytics business, in a recent Q&A article with Finovate.  With the proliferation of the digital world, managing digital identity and “getting it right” is crucial. However, as much as it is an opportunity, leveraging consumer identity data can also create a stumbling block for some organizations. Peters cited Experian’s annual Global Identity and Fraud Report, specifically, the consumer concern around online security and the need for industry players to find the right balance between security and a frictionless experience.  “In short, we need the right fraud-prevention treatment for the right transaction; it is not a one-size-fits-all exercise,” Peters said.  The interview also covered the importance of knowing a customer’s identity for compliance reasons and business use cases, dispelling the myth that banks’ efforts around personalization are considered “creepy” by consumers, and the best ways for banks and fintechs to build trust among their consumers.   According to Experian’s Global Identity and Fraud Report, consumers are willing to give entities they trust more data, particularly if they feel they are receiving value. And it’s undeniable that data is at the heart of personalization and building better relationships.  “It comes down to identifying and understanding consumers and their needs. The best way to do that is with a lot of data,” Peters said.  To read the full article, visit Finovate’s website.  Finovate: Experian CIO on Digital Identity, Personalization and Building Trust with Consumer Data  Learn more about Experian Identity