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Updated November 17th Related Posts Link to automotive form, business form
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
There are a number of people within the industry heralding the death of knowledge based authentication. To those people I would say, “In my humble opinion you are as wrong as those recent tweets proclaiming the death of Bill Cosby.” Before anyone’s head spins around, let me explain. When I talk about knowledge based authentication and out of wallet questions, I mean it in the truest sense, a la dynamic questions presented as a pop quiz and not the secret questions you answered when you set-up an account. Dynamic knowledge based authentication presents questions are generated from information known about the consumer, concerning things the true consumer would know and a fraudster wouldn’t. The key to success, and the key to good questions, is the data, which I have said many, many times before. The truth is every tool will let some fraud through; otherwise, you’re keeping too many good customers away. But if knowledge based authentication truly fails, there are two places to look: Data: There are knowledge based authentication providers who rely solely on public record data for their KBA solutions. In my opinion, that data is a higher data risk segment for compromise. Experian’s knowledge based authentication practice is disciplined and includes a mix of data. Our research has shown us that a question set should, ideally, include questions that are proprietary, non-credit, credit and innovative. Yes, it may make sense to include some public record data in a question set, but should it be the basis for the entire question set? Providers who can rely on their own data, or a strategic combination of data sources, rather than purchasing it from one of the large data aggregators are, in my opinion, at an advantage because fraudsters would need to compromise multiple sources in order to “game the system.” Actual KBA use: Knowledge based authentication works best as part of a risk management strategy where risk based authentication is a component within the framework and not the single, determining factor for passing a consumer. Our research has shown that clients who combine fraud analytics and a score with knowledge based authentication can increase authentication performance from 20% – 30% or more, depending on the portfolio and type of fraud (ID Fraud vs. First Party, etc.)… and adding a score has the obvious benefit of increasing fraud detection, but it also allows organizations to prioritize review rates efficiently while protecting the consumer experience. So before we write the obituary of KBA, let’s challenge those who tinker with out of wallet products, building lists of meaningless questions that a 5th grader could answer. Embrace optimized decisions with risk based authentication and employ fraud best practices in your use of KBA.
A few days ago I saw an article about hackers working from Russia, while committing check fraud in the United States. In what those investigating are calling a brilliant operation, the fraudsters compromised companies that archive and store records of check images or checks themselves. They then downloaded those check images and all available information. By printing new checks and using an old Internet “money mule” scheme, the fraudsters were able to send the bogus checks to ”the mule”, often as a payment, and have the check cashed at the mule’s bank to get the balance of the funds wired to an off-shore bank account. That article made me think about new breakthroughs in technology. What if those fraudsters had been a little savvier? What if they had the most recent smart phone application installed and didn’t need a mule to wire the money? They could have simply written checks and uploaded them for deposit to an account to which they had gained access with the hottest application du jour – deposit via photo image uploaded from a smart phone. That application would have allowed the fraudsters to cash the bogus check, gain access to the funds and move them to the next account at will. Or would it? Given the move toward mobile banking, it isn’t really a stretch to see this kind of thing happening. Probably not, but if organizations offering this kind of service use a risk based authentication approach it is more likely they use fraud models and decisioning strategies to minimize fraud and protect consumers while pushing out the latest technology. For those reasons, risk management solutions and enterprise fraud vendors need to not only keep pace with technology but also stay ahead of the curve in order to provide optimized decisions and the most relevant fraud analytics. Considering recent fraud trends and my love affair with mobile everything, I know I want the organizations I do business with to do everything they can to prevent fraud…and I’m positive I want my smart phone to be as smart as possible.
By: Kari Michel What are your acquisition strategies to increase consumer lending and gain market share? This blog will discuss new approaches to create segment-based targeting campaigns and the ability to precisely time the offer delivery with consumer needs. The most aggressive and successful banks are using need and attitudinal segmentation, coupled with models that identify consumers in the market for loan products. The return on marketing investment from these refined marketing efforts often exceed 350%, measured on a net of control basis, after all marketing costs. Here is a case study, using Experian tools, showing how one marketer used segment-based targeting, tailoring and timing to increase their response rate 145% over a competitor’s product. In the highly competitive credit card arena, a new business model is emerging that is dependent on acquiring new accounts from consumers that are grouped into specific behavior segments (Credit Hungry Card Switchers and Case Oriented Skeptics) and looking at consumers that were in the market, as well as had the highest likelihood of opening a bankcard account within the next 1 – 4 months. Test Results Total Competitor Experian Experian lift Quantity 624,000 623,953 Response Rate % 2.09% 3.03% 145% Actual Responses 13,035 18,902 Booked Rate % 1.64% 2.24% 137% Actual Booked 10,208 13,989 Approval Rate % 78.30% 74.01% 95% In addition to a 145% lift in response rate, over 3,700 more accounts were booked over the competition. These same tools, “In The Market Models” (developed using credit bureau data) and “Financial Personalities®”, can help your organization have a greater return on your direct marketing investment by increasing acquisition rates.