Margin test

Digital identity solutions are a crucial component to enhancing the customer experience in digital transactions. Driven by verified data, digital identity as a concept benefits both businesses and consumers. Innovative and effective solutions can prevent costly fraudulent activity and enhance compliance measures for businesses and ensure a more convenient and protected experience for consumers. Consumer preference for digital transactions has grown exponentially and will continue to do so leading to higher customer expectations for a seamless and secure experience. Experian is deeply committed to developing leading solutions and has earned high rankings in industry experience, strength of product and seamless solutions in Juniper Research’s Digital Identity: Technology Evolution, Regulatory Landscape & Forecasts 2020-2025 Report. Juniper Research, one of the leading global analyst firms in the mobile and digital technology sector, evaluated vendors active in the digital identity space based on factors such as size, financial performance, global reach, product range, number of clients and strength of partnerships. Juniper provides the most comprehensive and progressive analysis of the digital commerce market in its market-leading Commerce & Fintech research. The report discusses new approaches in the identity space and highlights best practice recommendations for deployment, in which Experian continues to be a market leader and remains committed to the crucial nature of identity as a concept for businesses. Experian’s proprietary solutions and digital identity services are available through Experian’s CrossCore partner ecosystem, which combines advanced analytics, rich data assets, identity insights and fraud prevention capabilities. Businesses using the Experian CrossCore partner ecosystem can connect any new or existing tools and systems in one place to quickly adjust strategies based on evolving threats and business needs, which helps to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs.

We’re currently living in a period of uncertainty in the UK and it can be quite difficult for people to understand how best to set up their finances for any economic turbulence ahead. We are all looking for the financial knowledge, confidence and resilience that can help us absorb any unforeseen circumstances. However, for some people, it’s not that easy.  Many simply don’t have the literacy skills to be confident in managing their finances. Being able to read and make sense of, for example, a credit report, bank statement or letter from a bank is an essential part of this. But a lack of understanding could lead to financial difficulties and an inability to find the support to improve your situation. Experian’s ‘United for Financial Health’ programme was born out of the company’s desire to empower vulnerable people so they can improve their financial health through education and action – particularly those affected the most by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is why we’re excited to partner with National Literacy Trust, to help deliver a campaign called ‘Words that Count’. The campaign focuses on providing young people (16-24) in Manchester with skills and confidence in words, to improve their financial health. The campaign will enable young people to be more comfortable at making good financial decisions. Improving money confidence through literacy skills can also lead to better savings habits – putting them in a stronger position to meet their long-term financial goals like getting a car, a mobile phone contract or even a mortgage. Importantly, improving literacy can help those who are currently struggling as a result of the pandemic. Experian is immensely proud to support ‘Words that Count’. Young people deserve the opportunity to succeed and avoid the long-term problems associated with financial difficulty, such as unmanageable debt and poor mental health. This campaign can help give them a ‘literacy leg-up’, and we hope it will provide a successful template to help disadvantaged communities throughout the UK.

Here’s what we expect in 2021: Putting a Face to Frankenstein IDs: Synthetic identity fraud – when a fraudster uses a combination of real and fake information to create an entirely new identity – is currently the fastest growing type of financial crime. The progressive uptick in synthetic identity fraud is likely due to multiple factors, including data breaches, dark web data access and the competitive lending landscape. As methods for fraud detection continue to mature, Experian expects fraudsters to use fake faces for biometric verification. These “Frankenstein faces” will use AI to combine facial characteristics from different people to form a new identity, creating a challenge for businesses relying on facial recognition technology as a significant part of their fraud prevention strategy. “Too Good to Be True” COVID Solutions: With the distribution of vaccines underway and wider availability of rapid COVID-19 testing, Experian expects that fraudsters will continue to find opportunities to capitalize on anxious and vulnerable consumers and businesses. Everyone needs to be vigilant against fraudsters using the promise of at-home test kits, vaccines and treatments as means for sophisticated phishing attacks, telemarketing fraud and social engineering schemes. Stimulus Fraud Activity, Round Two: For Americans suddenly out of work or struggling with the financial fallout from the pandemic, 2020’s government-issued stimulus funds were a welcome relief, but also an easy target for fraudsters to commit scams. Experian predicts fraudsters will take advantage of additional stimulus funding by using stolen data from consumers to intercept stimulus or unemployment payments. Say ‘Hello’ to Constant Automated Attacks: Once the stimulus fraud attacks run their course, Experian predicts hackers will increasingly turn to automated methods, including script creation (using fraudulent information to automate account creation) and credential stuffing (using stolen data from a breach to take over a user’s other accounts) to make cyberattacks and account takeovers easier and more scalable than ever before. With billions of records exposed in the U.S. due to data breaches annually, this type of fraud will prosper in 2021 and beyond until the industry moves away from its reliance on usernames and passwords. Survival of the Fittest for Small Businesses: As a result of COVID-19, businesses were left with no choice but to quickly shift to digital to meet the needs of consumers, and some were more prepared than others. In 2020, consumers may have been willing to give businesses time to adjust to the new normal, but in 2021 their expectations will be higher. Experian predicts businesses with lackluster fraud prevention tools and insufficient online security technology will suffer large financial losses in 2021 and beyond. While fraudsters will iterate on new and old methods of attack in 2021, Experian is always innovating to help businesses stay one step ahead. As a leader in fraud prevention, Experian offers a full suite of automated fraud prevention and detection tools that harness data and analytics to make businesses more secure. To learn more, check out Experian’s fraud prevention solutions and download the Future of Fraud Forecast.

As our world becomes increasingly data-driven, the demand for automation will continue to grow. At Experian, we believe that harnessing the power of data can create opportunities for businesses to succeed and society to thrive. We’re proud to have a culture dedicated to continuous innovation and it’s one of the reasons we were selected as the winner of Cloudera’s 2020 Data Impact Awards in the Data for Enterprise AI Category. The award honors organizations that have built and deployed systems for enterprise-scale machine learning and have harnessed AI to automate, secure, and standardize decision making. Cloudera’s annual Data Impact Awards recognizes organizations whose data projects deliver significant benefits to their business and the broader community. Experian was granted the award for the work our Business Information Services’ Data Enrichment Team did to build and launch six different data maintenance applications, which allowed us to more quickly identify data inconsistencies through automation and machine learning. An example of this is Experian’s Velcro application, which is powered by machine learning. In real-time, it can help prevent and resolve duplicate records while also improving the customer experience. This is just one example of how Experian is investing in data-driven solutions to create a better tomorrow on the road to recovery ahead of us. As we head into the new year, we will continue to innovate using the most cutting-edge technologies to make an impact in the business communities we serve. The winners, which each represent innovation and leadership in their respective industry, were selected by a panel of distinguished thought-leaders and expert industry analysts. To learn more about this award win, visit https://blog.cloudera.com/2020-data-impact-award-winner-spotlight-experian/. You can view the full list of 2020 Data Impact Award winners here.

A few weeks ago, we were able to share the exciting news about a new partnership we launched with the NAACP Empowerment Program. The Home Preservation Grant provides funding assistance to select Atlantans who are at risk of losing their homes because of a COVID-19-related hardship. It's part of Experian’s United for Financial Health program, which aims to empower and protect vulnerable consumers to improve their financial health through education and action. Today, we are excited to announce that 21 Atlanta-area homeowners are receiving grants for mortgage relief through this pilot program, just in time for the holidays. The recipients represent neighborhoods across Atlanta, including Christopher Heard, who serves our country in the Army National Guard Reserve and works in the airline industry. After Christopher’s employer cut his hours, he found it difficult to meet his mortgage payments on time. He told us, “We basically lost about 25 to 30% of our salaries across the board. COVID-19 was an unexpected curveball for everyone. This grant helps put me back on track, so I am grateful. I’d like to send a sincere thank you to the NAACP and Experian for their help.” Here’s a look at how the Home Preservation Grant is helping Christopher and other homeowners and communities in Atlanta. There are so many people like Christopher across Atlanta and in the U.S., who are struggling with their financial situation due to COVID-19. We believe that the Home Preservation Grant is such a meaningful program making a real difference in people’s lives and brings to life how Experian is promoting financial inclusion for all.