NA – North America

In our increasingly digital world, there’s a growing expectation among consumers to only receive personal and relevant content from brands.

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.

We recently looked at the borrowing behaviors of 60 million millennials to help millennials and businesses get a clearer picture of the next big wave of homebuyers to hit the mortgage market.

We often talk about the balance between customer security and convenience, but rarely do businesses track the impact of identifying customers and managing fraud risks as two sides of the same coin. According to our recent Global Fraud and Identity Report, 84 percent of business believe if they were certain about a customer’s identity, the need for risk mitigation would be reduced. Being able to better identify our customers should be at the crux of all our campaigns. Simply put, the faster and better you recognize your customers, the faster and better you recognize fraud. And we are not alone. We feel the industry agrees with us. Two of the world’s leading research firms, Forrester and Gartner, both recently released reports regarding the state of identity, and we are thrilled to have been recognized in both. The Forrester report, “Top Trends Shaping Identity Verification (IDV) in 2018,” which was authored by analysts Andras Cser and Merrit Maxim, and published in March 2018, discusses the importance of easy-to-use identity verification tools and the top trends shaping identity verification. Experian was cited as the most used vendor for identity verification based on a survey of global network security decision makers. The report also shared an example where a North American bank improved its identity theft detection rate by 15 percent by using Experian’s identity verification services. We were also included in Gartner’s April 2018 Market Guide for Identity Proofing and Corroboration, which helps companies understand the value of identity when it comes to protecting customers and revenue. Experian was one of only three vendors that met all the capabilities criteria recommend by Gartner. The guide, authored by Ant Allan, Jonathan Care, Dorothy Luong and Tricia Phillips, also points out several key findings regarding identity proofing and corroboration. Just recently, Experian was named one of the top 100 most innovative companies in the world by Forbes for the fifth consecutive year, and this is icing on the cake. We are thrilled to be included in these reports and are committed to helping businesses provide a seamless identity verification process with accuracy and simplicity, and one that doesn’t negatively impact the customer journey. Ultimately, investing time and resources to develop the best tools for identity verification goes a long way. Not only will your business leaders feel more confident in your organization’s ability to detect and prevent fraud, it’ll also save your business the time and money that you would spend on eliminating fraud after it happens. All our fraud and identity services are available through our award-winning Experian CrossCore platform, the industry’s first open platform for fraud and identity services. Gartner Disclaimer Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Having a diverse workforce is vital to help us innovate and deliver on the needs of our increasingly diverse clients and consumers. Over the years, we've made some great progress, but there's so much more we can do and it's going to take the collective effort of all of us to continue to move the needle. That's why we're gearing up to celebrate International Women's Day (IWD). It's a day celebrated in many countries around the world to recognize the achievements of women and drive equality among men and women. At Experian, IWD activities are extending throughout the month of March. Have a look at what's going on around the world as Experian celebrates this important day: Asia Pacific The Asia Pacific region is hosting a range of activities across our offices in March, which will include round-table and speaker events as well as an opportunity to network and pledge their support for IWD. EMEA and UK&I EMEA and UK&I are joining together for IWD to support and celebrate diversity and inclusion. The week started with a video of employees from both regions reflecting on what diverse teams bring to our business. Employees will also be invited to a variety of events to engage and network with inspirational women and hear stories from our leaders on what diversity means to them personally. Latin America Throughout the month of March, Latin America has been running a campaign to share stories of achievements in their region and raise awareness about breast cancer prevention and other diseases more common in women. On IWD, there will be a panel of women leaders who will address issues such as the social inclusion of women in the region, women's participation in the labor market, Experian's commitment to female leadership and the importance of a work/life In Brazil, IWD is kicking off with a presentation by members of the United Nations to present their 50-50 Gender Equality program (which aims to eliminate gender inequalities by 2030) and how they are working with companies around the world to achieve this vision. Employees will have an opportunity to hear from leaders in our business about diversity and inclusion plans for the region, and listen to a panel of external speakers discuss diversity challenges and career development. North America Our employees in North America will be kicking off the week with celebrations across their ITS’ 13 offices in the region. Each office will have daily activities throughout the week, and all employees – including virtual and those based in smaller offices – will be invited to attend webinars focused on Diversity and Inclusion topics. On IWD, there will be panel discussions with senior leaders who will speak on various career development topics. To close out the week, there will be a special Book Club discussion on March 9. We will continue to update this blog post all week with pictures and other ways we’re celebrating IWD. Bookmark this page and come back.

I feel that part of Experian’s responsibility as a global information services company is to build and bolster community involvement initiatives that help others. I’m currently a manager of our Fraud Resolution Team and Credit Educator Department in Allen, Texas, but I also have the honor of managing all outreach programs for our branch, bringing together Experian employees to give back to the community. Taking on a volunteer project on top of regular work can be daunting. As the point person for my office’s volunteerism, I’m in charge of communications about upcoming events and drumming up interest and excitement among employees, be it through flyers, silly videos, emails or even free t-shirts. I know a lot of my fellow employees, but I don’t know everyone, so spreading the word isn’t always easy. Despite these challenges, I continue doing this important work because I care about the impact Experian makes in its local communities. My first volunteer experience with Experian was working alongside Stop Hunger Now – an international hunger relief nonprofit – several years ago. I was amazed at the impact we had. Shortly thereafter, I also participated in a canned food drive, rallying Experian employees to visit the Texas Food Bank. After these two chaotic, inspirational, behind-the-scenes experiences, my interest was permanently piqued in on-site volunteer days within the Allen community. Since then, I’ve organized volunteer days with many other nonprofit programs. The amount of organization and work that goes into each volunteer day is much more than you might think. For every Stop Hunger Now event, we package 10,000 meals for those in need, which requires about 100 volunteers dedicating their time. When we worked with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization devoted to building homes for those who need them, our first two scheduled events were rained out – and it never rains in Texas! I was worried that no one would show up the third time, when we had to reschedule for 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Luckily, every single volunteer spot was filled. We got to meet the family we were building a house for, and we all signed a piece of wood from the house for them. Their gratitude made all the frustration and extra work worth it. It takes a village to get some of these events off the ground, but I have a strong support structure at Experian. And learning to empathize with people through volunteering helps me in my day-to-day work. People who are dealing with fraud can be very emotional, and fraud is unexpected by nature. My volunteering experience has equipped me with the skills needed to empathize with others better and think on my feet.

  Patients ideally should know what they’re going to owe when they show up for an appointment – the last thing they need is a big financial surprise to add to the stress of their visit. Similarly, doctors, nurses, hospitals and all healthcare providers help people to stay healthy day in and day out. Providers should be able to go to sleep at night knowing that they’ll be fairly compensated for the work that they do. However, making that happen isn’t easy. Behind the scenes, contracts, benefits and eligibility between medical groups, hospitals and insurance payers are fairly nuanced and complex. Clients benefit when it comes to how much a patient owes a hospital or medical group after treatment, rough estimates aren’t ideal – perfection is difficult/ create problems and issues. Billing must have pinpoint accuracy and add nuance based on unique contract terms that all medical groups and hospitals sign with their employers and payers. The details can actually be quite difficult to keep straight, and there is an extensive amount of variation in each contract’s rules. Experian Health works to make payment transparency the norm, so that patients know what to expect and healthcare providers are paid fairly, accurately and in a timely fashion. I began working for Experian in 2004 but my interest in product development and research eventually led me to Experian Health. My team of more than 100 Experian employees painstakingly reviews contracts, patient eligibility, benefits information and historical claims to generate an accurate fee estimate for each patient’s medical visit. Nuance/aiding are helping to work toward this. We utilize up-to-date technology that organizes all the information we find in an extensive database and review the claims on behalf of both our medical group clients and patients. The biggest challenge for me and my team is anticipating both patients’ and hospitals’ future needs and innovation in the field. Any time healthcare policies are changed or reimbursement guidelines shift, it affects our clients and requires nimble thinking on our part. How do we ensure that our technology is as modern as possible and our team members stay current on the latest trends and news? I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue adapting in the future.  

  My work with the non-profit side of Experian started more than a decade ago, when I was asked to provide some general oversight with a project. I was only meant to play a supporting role, but my passion for the work blossomed immediately. It also seemed fortuitous that my colleagues could jokingly call me “Tammy Non-Proffitt.” Non-profits are dedicated to furthering and advocating for their respective social causes, but they don’t always have the resources they need to drive their message home. Additionally, non-profits sometimes have trouble understanding who their actual donors are due to a lack of data insights. With the limited budgets non-profits have, it would be a shame to waste hard-earned dollars on a campaign that won’t resonate with the right people. Luckily, Experian utilizes data that helps non-profits target the audiences that care about their causes across multiple channels, driving donations that are crucial to the organization’s function, while raising awareness about their cause and furthering their efforts. Recently, I worked with the Raleigh, North Carolina-based non-profit Rise Against Hunger, an international organization that prevents hunger by providing food and aid to people who need it. When Rise Against Hunger was looking to promote several fundraising Facebook campaigns, our data allowed the organization to identify the right audiences for them to target. With this data, Rise Against Hunger can directly target people who are more likely to care – and donate – to their cause. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with The Orangewood Foundation, based in Santa Ana, California, which prepares former and current foster youth to reach their potential and learn about the basic life skills they need to succeed. Like Rise Against Hunger, Orangewood needed help segmenting their own current donor base for different promotions and campaigns, based on age, location and area of interest. Orangewood provides services to more than 1,500 youth every year, so making sure they are targeting the right people for donations is extremely important. Since I began working with Orangewood, I’ve had the chance to visit their campus and charter school, and was simply blown away by the quality of their staff and facilities. Data drives and informs decision-making, helping organizations like the non-profits I work with make smart choices about their communications outreach. In addition, my recent work has not only allowed me to help non-profit clients I care about, but also connected me with other Experian employees, showing how different teams can effectively collaborate to use data for good.  

In October, I had the pleasure of joining many industry leaders and fraud risk professionals from around the world at Experian’s Fusion Summit 2017 held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our annual Fusion Fraud Summit is a great opportunity to hear from industry leaders on what trends and emerging technology they are currently focusing on. This collaboration with other thought leaders is critical to staying ahead of fraudsters and keeping consumers safe, while providing the best experience possible. In addition to enjoying the sunny Arizona venue, I had the opportunity to network and have candid conversations with attendees and speakers about their fraud challenges and how these challenges affect their businesses. One thing I found striking is that in nearly every conversation, the topics centered on one or more of the following four themes. Security As consumers, we want to feel safe and we want to feel that businesses are doing everything they can to protect us: our payment information, our identity, our credit. Similarly, businesses want to help their customers feel safe, but they also want consumers to know that the data entrusted to them will not fall into nefarious hands. As such, the fraud leaders I spoke with at Fusion are more concerned with security than ever before. But they also know that there is no silver bullet to solve the ever-growing fraud problem. Instead, it’s a multi-layered approach that includes a combination of products and strategies that will recognize identities and assess risk of fraud. Those layers will help to provide the right level of confidence for every transaction. Recognition Being recognized by the people we do business with goes a long way. Whether it’s your coffee shop barista or the front desk clerk at your favorite hotel, being recognized makes us feel appreciated and special. The same applies in today’s digital environment. With the lack of face-to-face interaction online, being recognized when transacting and engaging online is even more important. Customers expect to be recognized and welcomed wherever and whenever they do business. The fraud leaders I spoke with said the same; they want to be as certain as they can about who their customers are. The benefits to this are huge - customers are recognized and welcomed, and it is easier for the business to recognize the fraud. Convenience We all lead busy lives, so it’s handy when we can easily pay bills or make purchases online. But it is not convenient when we’re forced to enter in passwords we may not remember, or get a code from our phone just to prove who we are. Worse yet, purchases could be declined unnecessarily. Now that’s inconvenient. Businesses struggle, especially this time of year, to provide a hassle-free experience for their customers while keeping a handle on increased levels of fraud during the holiday buying season. Most of the executives I spoke with at Fusion would like advanced authentication and security measures that don’t impact customers negatively but provide a better way to establish trust. Trust And in the end, it really comes down to trust. As consumers, why do we prefer to do repeat business with people we know? It is because we trust them. You know them, they know you: recognition helps to stimulate trust. As businesses get to know and recognize their customers, even online customers, they become more confident in evolving the level of conversation and engagement. Trust is at the center of every strong, lasting relationship. And trust is what makes all of us feel safe and protected. While at Fusion, I gave attendees a sneak peek into some of the findings of our upcoming annual Global Fraud Report. Over the last several months, we interviewed 5,500 consumers and more than 550 businesses in 11 markets around the world to hear what concerns and priorities they had. We look forward to sharing lots of great information in the next few weeks and throughout 2018, but for now I can tell you 30 percent of businesses are experiencing more fraud losses over the past 12 months. While these same businesses are eager to introduce new and innovative ways for consumers to open accounts or conduct transactions online, they also are keenly aware that new channels present new challenges. In order to make a difference, we need to work together as an industry to find smarter and more efficient ways to protect both the businesses and the customers they serve. Throughout the coming months, we’ll be sharing the 2018 Global Fraud Report and the findings. I’m sure you’ll find – just as we did – some eye-opening research into how consumers view recognition and trust and what businesses need to do to provide that secure and positive customer experience. For more information about how Experian can help you recognize your customers and better detect fraud, visit: https://www.experian.com/decision-analytics/global/fraud/global-identity-fraud.html