Data quality news

An authentic solution

Attempted fraud is on the increase, but companies are fighting back, with the help of Experian QAS.

Analysis from Experian shows that the economic climate is changing the nature of the fraud threat faced by organisations in the UK. There has been an increase in the number of attempted frauds across mortgages, insurance and automotive credit. Automotive fraud is now a major growth area for organised criminals who, against a trend of reduced car sales, may see this area as a softer target. Analysis of attempted frauds prevented by Experian in 2008 - versus - 2007, collected through the National Hunter scheme, reveals that:

• Organised fraudsters have increasingly targeted the automotive market, attracted by high value assets that are easily convertible into cash. There was a 70 percent increase in automotive fraud attempts detected in 2008, as a percentage of application volume
• There was a 7 percent increase in the total number of attempted mortgage fraud cases in 2008
• The insurance sector has seen a steep rise in attempted fraud, with a 23 percent year-on-year increase
• With less loan capital available, there was a 30 percent decline in the number of attempted fraudulent loan applications
• The credit card market has witnessed a decrease in attempted frauds as a percentage of application volume, with cases decreasing by 24 per cent on 2007 levels

Remote verification

Experian QAS is helping in the fight against fraud with its Authenticate solution. Authenticate can be used to verify a person's identity remotely, by cross-referencing the details supplied by the individual against a number of datasets. Authenticate can verify data such as name and delivery address, date of birth, driving licence numbers, and bank account information.

Authenticate is already being used by several organisations in both the public and private sectors. In fact, in the UK, 8 of the top 10 banks, 17 of the top 25 mortgage providers, and 9 of the top 10 credit card companies use Experian's application fraud prevention tools. Not only does Authenticate help reduce fraud and speed up the application process, it also places much less responsibility on the individual to supply paper-based means of authentication.

"Businesses are already under increased financial strain due to the current economic conditions, and cannot afford to underestimate the growing financial impact of fraud."

Says Nick Mothershaw, Director of Fraud and Identity Solutions at Experian.

"The deeper this recession gets, the greater the threat of fraud becomes. The credit and wider financial services industry need to ensure they are adopting best practice to fight fraud effectively."

For more information about Authentication solutions, click here