Cryptocurrency scams are on the rise as digital currencies gain popularity. The decentralized nature of these currencies makes them equally attractive to both legitimate consumers and fraudsters. Businesses may find themselves in a difficult position as they seek to prevent cryptocurrency-related fraud and help protect consumers. What are cryptocurrency scams? Cryptocurrencies are virtual currencies often based on and secured by blockchain technology. However, this does not always translate into security for the individual consumer. Many individuals fall victim to either cryptocurrency investment scams or cryptocurrency theft. Cryptocurrencies are not yet well-regulated or backed by a sovereign entity, leaving consumers open to threats when purchasing funds. The deregulated nature of the currencies makes it easy for scammers to build what appear to be legitimate cryptocurrency projects before disappearing, similar to pump-and-dump stock schemes. Additionally, scammers will perpetrate romance or other relationship-based scams and convince the victim to send them funds in cryptocurrency form. Cryptocurrency theft follows a few traditional fraud patterns: The fraudster may use phishing or social engineering to steal credentials. A crime ring might leverage malware or keystroke loggers to do the same thing. A scammer might present a “reward” to an unsuspecting consumer and require access to their wallet in order to “gift” the reward. Scammers consistently find new ways to trick unsuspecting consumers, including a recent scam relying on QR codes to steal funds converted to cryptocurrency via an ATM. Other common scams utilize imposter websites, fake mobile apps, bad tweets, or scamming emails to steal information and funds. The impact of scams on consumers According to the FTC, investment cryptocurrency scam reports have skyrocketed, with nearly 7,000 people reporting losses totaling more than $80 million from October 2020 to March 2021, with a media loss of $1,900. In 2020 the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker Risk Report ranked cryptocurrency scams as the seventh riskiest. In 2021, they jumped to the second riskiest scam. In Michigan alone 31 cryptocurrency scams were reported from January 2020 to March 2022, with reported loses from $350 all the way to $41,000. The impact of scams on businesses While the true impact of cryptocurrency scams on businesses is hard to measure, it’s easy to identify several areas for concern. First is the opportunity for the theft of personally identifiable information (PII) during a fraudulent cryptocurrency transaction. Once fraudsters have stolen funds, they may also funnel them through a legitimate business and turn them into a regulated form of currency for easy of use. Businesses with legitimate cryptocurrency interactions may also suffer from spoofed apps or websites, causing reputational damage when consumers are taken in by a scam. Preventing the fallout from scams As companies debate accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment, it’s important to consider that funds may be stolen or accessed by a malicious party. One way to protect your organization is to have a strong device identification strategy that can help ensure the entity accessing an account and the funds within is the true owner. By layering in this protection with other fraud defenses, businesses can be better prepared as consumer payment preferences shift. Additionally, financial institutions and other organizations should keep consumers informed about how to protect their own data and signs of scams. To learn more about how Experian is helping businesses develop and maintain effective fraud and identity solutions, visit us or request a call. And keep an eye out for additional in-depth explorations of our Future of Fraud Forecast. Request a call Future of Fraud Forecast

With used vehicle sales up 13% from 2020 to 2021, and auction volumes at historic lows, obtaining vehicles directly from consumers offers an opportunity for dealers to maintain a profitable sales pipeline. The key for dealers is to understand how their sales stack up against other local dealers — and more specifically, what types of vehicles those competitive dealers are selling. Dealers should take advantage of market visibility Experian’s marketing solution, the Automotive Intelligence Engine (AIE), offers dealers market visibility of pre-owned sales trends and recommends marketing strategies to help acquire used vehicle inventory. AIE provides specific strategies to help dealers acquire the most desired units and reach/resonate with consumers who are most likely to bring those units in on trade. Dealers can view: Who owns desirable vehicles the dealer would like to purchase Strategies to acquire and sell used units Sales trends such as segment, class, model, make and model Financing trends such as credit score, term, and lender Audience makeup: demographic and psychographic characteristics, who owns what type of vehicle, and where they live. By understanding the used owner, dealers can use messaging that resonates to help upsell them into a newer vehicle they desire—helping dealers stay competitive in today’s market. Dealers should also look at lending trends Exploring the world of used vehicle sales should also extend into lending trends. Since used vehicles are not included in OEM lending incentives, understanding trends helps dealers make more informed decisions. Used vehicles can qualify for special OEM sponsored CPO financing. With AIE, dealers have visibility into the amount financeable percentages, APR trends, terms, and tiers for lenders within their market. This benefits dealers to know which lenders are covering more significant percentages like 140% of NADA and what lenders are covering lower credit tiers. Knowing options on the lending side of the transaction empowers dealers to expand their financing options to work with lenders who facilitate lower credit scores or cover higher percentages. Learn how Experian’s Automotive Intelligence Engine can help you make more informed decisions about used car inventory acquisition. You may also be interested in reading more about audience segmentation and AIE in our blog, Data-Driven Audience Segmentation Empowers More Effective Omnichannel Marketing. 1US Used Car Market Finishes Strong in 2021: What's Up for 2022? | Nasdaq

As I reflect on the past two years and think about how the pandemic impacted the automotive industry, I realized that although it was a crazy ride, I believe there was a silver lining – at least for marketers at OEMs, agencies, and large dealer groups, who are tasked with advertising to consumers. I’ll explain more in a minute. First, let’s very briefly recap some trends we’ve recently experienced: Auto dealerships shut down showrooms to in-person shoppers Chip shortages paralyzed new vehicle manufacturing (and are ongoing) Shoppers rapidly shifted to online car shopping (and buying) Pre-owned vehicle sales went through the roof (and remain high) Streaming services went wild, and consumers continue to devour content Marketers shifted focus to more digital marketing to meet consumer demand So, the silver lining? Auto marketers certainly had to take a crash course in the new consumer buying journey. One result was an appreciation for the complexities of digital experiences and a new understanding of unique consumer behaviors and preferences. Here are a few things marketers learned: Consumers want to feel connected to their preferred brand(s) They want to be in charge of their shopping and buying journey Consumers want transparency and honesty from their brand (and dealer) They want the information they are looking for to be both instantly available and on their preferred devices Consumers want time to make a decision Before the pandemic, research revealed that about 88% of prospective car buyers researched options online before stepping into a dealership, and 60% of shoppers spent six or more months on their search, with up to 24 marketing touchpoints along the way.1 So, how do marketers ensure their advertising appears, front and center, for all these touchpoints? Today, the challenge for auto marketers is to stay on top of the consumer’s needs and be there when they are “looking or hearing” their message. This includes creating relevant messages across all media, including social, email, text, web, direct mail, Connected TV, linear, and Addressable TV channels. And don’t forget, consumers have multiple devices now, so it’s even harder for your message to “find them.” During their auto buying journey, consumers are a moving target! To succeed in today’s new world, auto marketers need to rely heavily on data insights that enable them to send targeted, relevant messages exactly where the consumer wants them. Is this even possible? In a word, yes. We’ve published a resource for auto marketers To help marketers stay on top of the latest data science trends and the insights this data produces, we’ve written, Using Data Insights to Drive Measurable OEM Marketing Strategies. We discuss the new consumer buying journey, the explosion of personal devices, the latest in data-driven insights, the increase in media channels, and how to best target, activate, and measure marketing campaigns while optimizing spend. We cover five areas that we believe auto marketers need to focus on to be successful: Identity: Learn the importance of linking fragmented data across channels, platforms, and devices to build unified customer profiles that enable a multi-channel customer experience. Insights: Understand how applying data insights can help make more strategic and effective marketing decisions regarding your audiences, channels, messaging, and goals. Audiences: Read about the value of leveraging automotive, predictive, and lifestyle data to build precisely segmented audiences for every marketing campaign. Activation: Learn how you can leverage our relationship with more than 100 media partners and digital platforms to launch and optimize your marketing campaigns across all channels. Measurement: Read about the importance of accurate measurement and determining the ROI of your online and offline campaigns to gain actionable insights for future campaigns. Get started by reading a complimentary copy of Using Data Insights to Drive Measurable OEM Marketing Strategies. Learn more about Experian's OEM marketing solutions. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2020/09/10/why-automotive-marketing-is-changing-and-how-to-meet-the-demand/?sh=16d583c9a3dd