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As Valentine’s Day approaches, hearts will melt, but some will inevitably be broken by romance scams. This season of love creates an opportune moment for scammers to prey on individuals feeling lonely or seeking connection. Financial institutions should take this time to warn customers about the heightened risks and encourage vigilance against fraud. In a tale as heart-wrenching as it is cautionary, a French woman named Anne was conned out of nearly $855,000 in a romance scam that lasted over a year. Believing she was communicating with Hollywood star Brad Pitt; Anne was manipulated by scammers who leveraged AI technology to impersonate the actor convincingly. Personalized messages, fabricated photos, and elaborate lies about financial needs made the scam seem credible. Anne’s story, though extreme, highlights the alarming prevalence and sophistication of romance scams in today’s digital age. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 70,000 Americans reported romance scams in 2022, with losses totaling $1.3 billion—an average of $4,400 per victim. These scams, which play on victims’ emotions, are becoming increasingly common and devastating, targeting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Financial institutions have a crucial role in protecting their customers from these schemes. The lifecycle of a romance scam Romance scams follow a consistent pattern: Feigned connection: Scammers create fake profiles on social media or dating platforms using attractive photos and minimal personal details. Building trust: Through lavish compliments, romantic conversations, and fabricated sob stories, scammers forge emotional bonds with their targets. Initial financial request: Once trust is established, the scammer asks for small financial favors, often citing emergencies. Escalation: Requests grow larger, with claims of dire situations such as medical emergencies or legal troubles. Disappearance: After draining the victim’s funds, the scammer vanishes, leaving emotional and financial devastation in their wake. Lloyds Banking Group reports that men made up 52% of romance scam victims in 2023, though women lost more on average (£9,083 vs. £5,145). Individuals aged 55-64 were the most susceptible, while those aged 65-74 faced the largest losses, averaging £13,123 per person. Techniques scammers use Romance scammers are experts in manipulation. Common tactics include: Fabricated sob stories: Claims of illness, injury, or imprisonment. Investment opportunities: Offers to “teach” victims about investing. Military or overseas scenarios: Excuses for avoiding in-person meetings. Gift and delivery scams: Requests for money to cover fake customs fees. How financial institutions can help Banks and financial institutions are on the frontlines of combating romance scams. By leveraging technology and adopting proactive measures, they can intercept fraud before it causes irreparable harm. 1. Customer education and awareness Conduct awareness campaigns to educate clients about common scam tactics. Provide tips on recognizing fake profiles and unsolicited requests. Share real-life stories, like Anne’s, to highlight the risks. 2. Advanced data capture solutions Implement systems that gather and analyze real-time customer data, such as IP addresses, browsing history, and device usage patterns. Use behavioral analytics to detect anomalies in customer actions, such as hesitation or rushed transactions, which may indicate stress or coercion. 3. AI and machine learning Utilize AI-driven tools to analyze vast datasets and identify suspicious patterns. Deploy daily adaptive models to keep up with emerging fraud trends. 4. Real-time fraud interception Establish rules and alerts to flag unusual transactions. Intervene with personalized messages before transfers occur, asking “Do you know and trust this person?” Block transactions if fraud is suspected, ensuring customers’ funds are secure. Collaborating for greater impact Financial institutions cannot combat romance scams alone. Partnerships with social media platforms, AI companies, and law enforcement are essential. Social media companies must shut down fake profiles proactively, while regulatory frameworks should enable banks to share information about at-risk customers. Conclusion Romance scams exploit the most vulnerable aspects of human nature: the desire for love and connection. Stories like Anne’s underscore the emotional and financial toll these scams take on victims. However, with robust technological solutions and proactive measures, financial institutions can play a pivotal role in protecting their customers. By staying ahead of fraud trends and educating clients, banks can ensure that the pursuit of love remains a source of joy, not heartbreak. Learn more
As data breaches become an ever-growing threat to businesses, the role of employees in maintaining cybersecurity has never been more critical. Did you know that 82% of data breaches involve the human element1 , such as phishing, stolen credentials, or social engineering tactics? These statistics reveal a direct connection between employee identity theft and business vulnerabilities. In this blog, we’ll explore why protecting your employees’ identities is essential to reducing data breach risk, how employee-focused identity protection programs, and specifically employee identity protection, improve both cybersecurity and employee engagement, and how businesses can implement comprehensive solutions to safeguard sensitive data and enhance overall workforce well-being. The Rising Challenge: Data Breaches and Employee Identity Theft The past few years have seen an exponential rise in data breaches. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 1,571 data compromises in the first half of 2024, impacting more than 1.1 billion individuals – a 490% increase year over year2. A staggering proportion of these breaches originated from compromised employee credentials or phishing attacks. Explore Experian's Employee Benefits Solutions The Link Between Employee Identity Theft and Cybersecurity Risks Phishing and Social EngineeringPhishing attacks remain one of the top strategies used by cybercriminals. These attacks often target employees by exploiting personal information stolen through identity theft. For example, a cybercriminal who gains access to an employee's compromised email or social accounts can use this information to craft realistic phishing messages, tricking them into divulging sensitive company credentials. Compromised Credentials as Entry PointsCompromised employee credentials were responsible for 16% of breaches and were the costliest attack vector, averaging $4.5 million per breach3. When an employee’s identity is stolen, it can give hackers a direct line to your company’s network, jeopardizing sensitive data and infrastructure. The Cost of DowntimeBeyond the financial impact, data breaches disrupt operations, erode customer trust, and harm your brand. For businesses, the average downtime from a breach can last several weeks – time that could otherwise be spent growing revenue and serving clients. Why Businesses Need to Prioritize Employee Identity Protection Protecting employee identities isn’t just a personal benefit – it’s a strategic business decision. Here are three reasons why identity protection for employees is essential to your cybersecurity strategy: 1. Mitigate Human Risk in Cybersecurity Employee mistakes, often resulting from phishing scams or misuse of credentials, are a leading cause of breaches. By equipping employees with identity protection services, businesses can significantly reduce the likelihood of stolen information being exploited by fraudsters and cybercriminals. 2. Boost Employee Engagement and Financial Wellness Providing identity protection as part of an employee benefits package signals that you value your workforce’s security and well-being. Beyond cybersecurity, offering such protections can enhance employee loyalty, reduce stress, and improve productivity. Employers who pair identity protection with financial wellness tools can empower employees to monitor their credit, secure their finances, and protect against fraud, all of which contribute to a more engaged workforce. 3. Enhance Your Brand Reputation A company’s cybersecurity practices are increasingly scrutinized by customers, stakeholders, and regulators. When you demonstrate that you prioritize not just protecting your business, but also safeguarding your employees’ identities, you position your brand as a leader in security and trustworthiness. Practical Strategies to Protect Employee Identities and Reduce Data Breach Risk How can businesses take actionable steps to mitigate risks and protect their employees? Here are some best practices: Offer Comprehensive Identity Protection Solutions A robust identity protection program should include: Real-time monitoring for identity theft Alerts for suspicious activity on personal accounts Data and device protection to protect personal information and devices from identity theft, hacking and other online threats Fraud resolution services for affected employees Credit monitoring and financial wellness tools Leading providers like Experian offer customizable employee benefits packages that provide proactive identity protection, empowering employees to detect and resolve potential risks before they escalate. Invest in Employee Education and Training Cybersecurity is only as strong as your least-informed employee. Provide regular training sessions and provide resources to help employees recognize phishing scams, understand the importance of password hygiene, and learn how to avoid oversharing personal data online. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) MFA adds an extra layer of security, requiring employees to verify their identity using multiple credentials before accessing sensitive systems. This can drastically reduce the risk of compromised credentials being misused. Partner with a Trusted Identity Protection Provider Experian’s suite of employee benefits solutions combines identity protection with financial wellness tools, helping your employees stay secure while also boosting their financial confidence. Only Experian can offer these integrated solutions with unparalleled expertise in both identity protection and credit monitoring. Conclusion: Identity Protection is the Cornerstone of Cybersecurity The rising tide of data breaches means that businesses can no longer afford to overlook the role of employee identity in cybersecurity. By prioritizing identity protection for employees, organizations can reduce the risk of costly breaches and also create a safer, more engaged, and financially secure workforce. Ready to protect your employees and your business? Take the next step toward safeguarding your company’s future. Learn more about Experian’s employee benefits solutions to see how identity protection and financial wellness tools can transform your workplace security and employee engagement. Learn more 1 2024 Experian Data Breach Response Guide 2 Identity Theft Resource Center. H1 2024 Data Breach Analysis 3 2023 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report
Fraud Prevention: Gaining insight fraud throughout the customer lifecycle & future trends Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of chairing the annual Grad School session during CNP Expo 2015. The group was energized by the participation of the attendees and we hope that all gained insight into issues regarding fraud throughout the customer lifecycle as well as future trends in payments, identity and cross border growth. For those who were unable to join us in Orlando, the CNP Expo Grad School focused on the importance of creating a comprehensive fraud strategy to protect your organization throughout the customer lifecycle. To help articulate the varied fraud challenges posed at each stage, we brought an esteemed group of fraud experts, who collectively have served in the industry for over 100 years. We kicked off Grad School with Lawrence Baldwin, CIO of myNetWatchman. He described how fraudsters can transform low value credentials, which can be purchased on the black market for fractions of a cent, into high-value validated credentials that facilitate burgeoning Account Takeover attacks. Jeramie Driessen, a Sr. Risk Analyst in Experian’s Fraud and ID group, then delved into the challenges merchants need to address when evaluating new account opening for merchants and card issuers. Yours truly covered the various stages of Account Takeover and described the evolving fraud vectors that are targeting existing accounts. During part two of the three-hour Grad School, Angela Montoya, Product Management Analyst for Experian Fraud and ID, and David Stewart, Manager of Corporate Security at Virgin America, shared their insights about transaction fraud and dived deep into the nuances of sniffing out crime rings and setting up new fraud teams. We ended with Dan Elvester, Sr. Director of Business Development at Experian, sharing facts and market trends around ecommerce growth, cross-border expansion and emerging fraud tools just before Cherian Abraham, Sr. Consultant with Experian’s Global Consulting Practice, covered advanced topics regarding Apple Pay, Tokenization and the future of Identity Verification. Overall, the CNP Expo 2015 Grad School reinforced our central theme of creating a multi-layered fraud strategy that places controls not just on the monetary transactions executed on your website but also on the account management, origination and even acquisition phases of your customers’ lifecycle. Thanks again to our speakers and attendees for your engagement and interest in Experian’s ongoing efforts to stop fraud. To follow along the topics that were covered a copy of our grad school presentation can be viewed here:
Credit card declines Surag Patel, vice president of global product management for 41st Parameter, led a panel discussion on Digital Consumer Trust with experts from the merchant community and financial services industry at this week’s CNP Expo. During the hour-long session, the expert panel – which included Patel, Jeff Muschick of MasterCard and TJ Horan from FICO – discussed primary research explaining the $40 billion in revenue lost each year to unwarranted CNP credit card declines and what businesses can do to avoid it. Patel began the Thursday morning session by asking the audience how many have bought something online—of course, everyone raised their hands. He then asked how many had been declined—about half the hands stayed up. “Of those with your hands still up,” he said, “how many of you are fraudsters?” The audience chuckled, but the reality of false positives and unnecessary declines is no laughing matter. Unnecessary declines cause lost revenue and damage the customer relationship with merchants, banks and card issuers. The panel cited a 41st Parameter survey of 1,000 consumers and described their responses to the question, what do you do after you get declined? While many would call the card issuer or try a different payment method, one in six would actually skip the purchase altogether, one in ten would purchase from a different online merchant, and one in twelve would go buy the item at a brick-and-mortar store. So regardless of who the customer blames, ultimately, when a good purchase is declined, everybody loses. Jeff Muschick, who works in fraud solutions for MasterCard, spoke about the need for a solid rules engine, and recommended embracing new tools as they emerge to enhance their fraud prevention strategy. He acknowledged that for smaller merchants, keeping up with fraudsters can be incredibly taxing, and often even at larger organizations, fraud departments are understaffed. For that reason, he highlighted a tool that many fraud prevention strategies are leaving on the table, and that’s cooperation: “We talk about collaboration, but it’s not as gregarious as we’d like it to be.” TJ Horan, who is responsible for fraud solutions at FICO, encouraged merchants, banks, and card issuers to mitigate the damage of good declines through customer education. He observed that “if there was a positive thing to come out of the Target breach (and that’s a big ‘if’), it is an increase in general consumer awareness of credit-card fraud and data protection.” This helps inform customers’ attitudes when they are declined, because they realize it is probably a measure being taken for their own protection, and they are likely to be more forgiving. Click here for more information about TrustInsight and how online merchants can increase sales by approving more trusted transactions.
Recently, I sat down to answer three questions for “The Year of Payments – 2015: One Quarter in” for PYMNTS.com on the topic of mobile payments in regards to: How Q1 2015 is different than Q1 2014 What’s the most significant development so far this year? If “Payments 2015” were a brand and had a tagline, what would it be and why? A significant factor in shaping the next frontier in fraud management is the continued rapid growth in online and mobile payments as the preferred methods of doing business for many consumers. With more than a third of customers interacting with a single business in five or more channels and more than 85 percent of consumers using online or mobile to conduct business, the need for omnichannel fraud prevention becomes a requirement. These trends make mobile-device intelligence as important to the authentication process as traditional personally identifiable information. As a result, the need to integrate device intelligence into the authentication process to associate a consumer to a known device is critical. Companies already are beginning to incorporate device intelligence into their authentication strategies. The ability to verify a customer through his or her device is a huge benefit to the overall customer experience and not only makes it easier for the customer to do business with you, but also adds an additional layer of validation. The challenge with any new emerging business or new technology is maintaining a frictionless customer experience foremost because fraudsters are always the early adopters. Make sure to read our perspective paper to see why emerging channels call for advanced fraud identification techniques and what myself and other industry leaders had to say on the topic of mobile payments: