Tag: identity theft

Between social unrest across the globe, the lingering pandemic, and the digital transformation brought on by the health crisis, the fraud landscape has expanded dramatically for businesses and consumers alike. According to Experian’s latest global identity and fraud report, 93% of U.S. companies have mid-to-high concern for fraud, and 81% say that their worries about fraud have increased over the past 12 months. Monitoring unused or dormant accounts for fraud is often a warning directed at consumers. However, it’s now advice an increasing number of businesses are wishing they’d followed, as growing synthetic identity (SID) fraud is fueling a dramatic increase in losses—SID related charge-offs ballooned to $20 billion in 2021 alone, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The threat of SIDs SIDs are made to look like an actual consumer, combining both real and fake data to form a new composite identity. They typically evolve using a combination of tactics that include: Identifying and creating relationships with businesses that have a high tolerance for identity discrepancies. These include businesses whose products expose the business to low fraud risk and/or products offered to market segments where identity verification is expected to be challenging. Either of these enable an SID to be planted among consumer data sources. Attaching the SID to existing accounts and relationships that belong to other consumers. Often these existing accounts were established by collusive criminals or by using other SIDs, but there are also ways for legitimate consumers to collect ‘rent’ in exchange for adding other consumers to existing accounts. Either approach improves the SID’s appearance of credit worthiness. Progressively building the SID’s independent ability to access larger and larger amounts of credit until they spend quickly and default on all obligations, leaving no one for the victimized businesses to pursue. “They’re difficult to identify because of the combination of real and fake data and because there’s no actual victim reporting an identity theft. As a result, businesses typically have trouble separating SID losses from credit losses,” said Chris Ryan, Experian’s go-to-market lead for fraud and identity. “SID fraud isn’t committed haphazardly.  It’s carefully planned and executed—and it adapts to policy changes. Some businesses change their underwriting policy or focus on early-lifecycle account activity like purchases, payments, and requests for additional credit to reduce SID losses that occur immediately after an account is opened. SIDs can adapt to this. If six months of responsible account behavior earns a credit line increase or the ability to spend large amounts in a single billing cycle, the perpetrators are willing to wait,” Ryan said. “It’s something businesses and lenders need to be on guard for, especially with the fast-paced holiday shopping season ahead,” he said. Addressing SIDs Solving the increasingly complex problem of SID fraud requires a thoughtful approach. The institutions seeing success at preventing multi-faceted fraud are using a layered approach to identifying and mitigating fraud. Here are three steps lenders can take today to prevent SID fraud across your portfolio: Use data and analytics that extend beyond credit to evaluate identities and their histories more completely. Apply those analytics across the lifecycle from marketing and origination to portfolio management recognizing that SID risk is not restricted to a single lifecycle stage. Have a rigorous verification process that escalates to document verification or the Social Security Administrations Electronic Consent Based SSN Verification (eCBSV) process For more information on how you can leverage a multi-layered approach to fraud in your business, visit our fraud and identity solutions hub or request a call to discuss customizing a solution for your company.

With the right technology, it’s possible to implement a layered fraud solution that provides protection and enhances the consumer journey.

Experian created the 2022 Future of Fraud Forecast to help businesses anticipate and prevent new fraud trends in the year ahead.

Download the North America findings report to learn more about business and consumer fraud and identity trends to be aware of this year. 

According to Experian data analysis and a recent study on unemployment insurance fraud, at least 25% of new claims are a result of identity theft.

Preventing fraud losses requires an understanding of the individual fraud types, how they differ from one another, and how this impacts potential solutions.

Look into North American trends over the last year and to learn how fraud prevention and positive customer relationships are two sides of the same coin.

Every few months we hear in the news about a fraud ring that has been busted here in the U.S. or in another part of the world.

Now that we’re facing a global crisis, it’s time to reconsider the fraud and identity approach that drove the economic boom that defined that last decade.

At Experian, we are here to help consumers understand how the credit reporting system and personal finance overall will move forward during the pandemic.

Credit ghosting refers to the theft of a deceased person’s identity. According to the IRS, 2.5 million deceased identities are stolen each year.

Combatting fraud trends in loyalty and rewards programs requires device intelligence, digital identity verification email risk scoring and more.

What do Adam Sandler, Hugh Grant, Michael Bublé, Leo Tolstoy and Colonel Sanders have in common? They're all born on the most common birth date in the U.S.

The best online experience balances security and convenience. Technology and innovation is allowing businesses to give the maximum potential of both.

How can fintech companies ensure they’re one step ahead of fraudsters? Kathleen Peters discusses how fintechs can prepare for success in fraud prevention.