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The ramifications of child identity theft can have a long-lasting impact into adulthood.  According to a recent Experian survey among 500 child identity theft victims who are now adults, one in four survey respondents are still dealing with issues more than 10 years after the fact, and 35% have sought professional help in dealing with related stress, anxiety, anger or depression related to the theft. Child identity theft is also a growing problem; it was reported by Javelin that more than one million children were victims in 2017.  This disturbing trend makes our newest free offer very timely: a free, one-time Child ID Scan that checks if the Social Security number (SSN) for a child (under age 18) is associated with an Experian credit file. If a credit file is found, Experian’s Fraud Resolution team will assist the parent or legal guardian with next steps. Not only do we offer a free opportunity for parents to see if their child might be a fraud victim – but we have added a Family Plan in our IdentityWorks protection product so parents, with a paid membership plan, can include up to 10 children. Newly redesigned last year, our Family Plan offers two membership packages at competitive price points with more features than ever before such as social network monitoring, CreditLock, sex offender registry alerts, and FICO Score updates, among other benefits.  The solution covers minors with ongoing monitoring for the child’s SSN on the dark web, the common name for the burgeoning illegal Internet marketplace where information is often bought and sold among thieves. To help generate nationwide awareness of the serious threat of child identity theft, we are designating September 1 as an official day to address the issue. We hope Child Identity Theft Awareness Day will gain traction as an annual reminder to parents to be vigilant about protecting their children’s information and take root in communities nationwide so we can all participate in the cause. This year, we invite consumers to engage with us; share personal stories in social media or share our content and use the hashtag #StopChildIDTheft. As part of this campaign, Experian is also sponsoring the Identity Theft Resource Center to extend their call center hours September 1 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT.  Consumers can call toll-free at 1-888-400-5530 and ask questions about child identity theft. Children are one of the most vulnerable populations, and we urge all parents to take action and use the free Child ID Scan. We are proud of the innovation we have achieved as we continue to leverage the power of data and analytics to protect consumers’ identities.  Parents can visit www.experian.com/childscan for more information.

We know millennials as the digital-savvy group that was raised on the web, likes to share things and prefers to communicate via text, but we wanted to know more. We recently looked at the borrowing behaviors of 60 million millennials to help millennials and businesses make the right decisions and get a clearer picture of the next big wave of homebuyers to hit the mortgage market. Millennials are the largest credit population in the U.S. at 61 million. They currently make up over 19% of the total U.S. population, but only 15% of millennials currently have a mortgage. In Q4 2017, 23% of mortgage-related dollars came from millennials and we’re seeing the most millennial mortgage originations in the south and west regions of the U.S. We studied more than 60 million millennials to compare the differences between millennials with a mortgage and those without. Our research showed mortgage lenders are drawn towards higher credit scores for millennials pursuing a mortgage. On average, 77% of millennials with a mortgage have a VantageScore greater than 661, with an average score of 716 for the millennial homeowner. Since people generally become more prime as they mature, it’s not surprising the millennial homeowner is slightly older. The average age of the millennial with a mortgage is 31, compared to 28 years old for millennials without a mortgage. We’re also seeing higher incomes are helping these older millennials secure a mortgage with an average income of $64,000 for millennials with a mortgage compared to $33,000 for millennials without a mortgage. With 85% of millennials without a mortgage today, it seems there is significant opportunity for mortgage lenders. But are these mortgage-less millennials ready to enter the mortgage market? On average, millennials without a mortgage have a VantageScore of 623 with eight trades on file. Only 39% of millennials without a mortgage have a prime or better score and many have higher delinquency rates. Many of these millennials will need to improve personal loan and bankcard usage habits to obtain lower rates when they’re ready to secure a mortgage. The good news for this group of millennials who may be interested in owning a home one day is small changes in financial behaviors such as building a history of on time payments and improved credit practices can help mortgage lenders shift from viewing them as high-risk to low-risk relatively quickly. Learn more about our credit outlook on millennials.

I’m delighted to confirm the launch of Experian Analytics on Demand in the UK. Following a highly successful launch in the US, it will be available to businesses across the UK and EMEA regions this Autumn. Ascend is an integral part of the suite of market-leading Experian innovations that we’re bringing to market over coming months, all of which will accelerate the ability of our UK clients to harness the full potential of big data. It helps businesses of all shapes and sizes analyse vast volumes of information faster, more effectively, and with deeper insight than ever before. Ascend puts a new suite of data tools in the hands of in-house analytical teams, allowing them to build their own predictive models to develop business strategies and make real-time decisions – ultimately supporting their abilities to bring better services to market more quickly and with better results. The digital transformation of our marketplace has meant that customers are constantly demanding a faster, more responsive service and that has put increasing pressure on businesses. Our research has found that only one in three businesses are employing advanced analytics technologies to develop a deeper, more meaningful understanding of their data. Just 29% currently combine both traditional and non-traditional data sources to gather more insight. While, two in five businesses still rely on instinct and subjective opinion to make decisions. Ascend harnesses the power of open-source technology, combining it with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to help businesses unlock insights and take decisive actions in the moments that matter. Bringing unique scale, speed and intelligence that deliver the best results for both businesses and our customers. It’s not simply about changing the way you manage your data; it’s about modernising the way you manage your business. This is a very exciting time for our industry and I’m looking forward to working with both our existing partners and new clients to demonstrate the many opportunities that this new platform can bring. For an early view of the platform, please follow the link here to register your interest.