JR TOC Review

Experian hosting Future of Fraud and Identity event during National Cyber Security Awareness Month Costa Mesa, Calif., Oct. 13, 2014 — Identity and fraud concerns are a pressing global issue for many industries, including financial services, public sector and retailers. With the rise in security and data breaches, many organizations across the United States are particularly challenged, due to the growth of malware viruses, mobile-payment advancements and the need to authenticate online and mobile consumers better. To help business leaders address these rising fraud and identity issues, Experian® is hosting the Future of Fraud and Identity event on Oct. 21 in New York City, N.Y. The event will feature: Ori Eisen, Experian fraud expert and founder of 41st Parameter, highlighting the current trends in cybersecurity and how technology can combat these major threats Frank Abagnale, of Catch Me If You Can fame and respected authority on financial crime and fraud, sharing his personal story highlighting his work with numerous financial institutions over the past 38 years Charles Chung, president of Experian Decision Analytics, a global leader in fraud and identity products, opening the event Jon Jones, senior vice president of fraud and identity for Experian Decision Analytics, presenting Experian’s strategic view on identity risk management Many organizations are trying to address fraud risks while adapting to the changing habits of customers. One example of this is the acceptance of new mobile-payment options that are driving a transformation of the payments ecosystem. Current mobile-fraud trends include the use of increasingly sophisticated malware as attackers capitalize on banks and retailers providing these new service offerings to consumers via mobile devices. “Gaining control in this dynamic fraud environment is a major challenge for businesses as the Internet and mobile technologies were not designed with fraud in mind. Consumers accessing their financial or personal data at any time is a key fraud risk today, further enabling criminal activity,” said Eisen. “As companies invest to meet customer expectations and ensure that payments are secure and reliable, we see an urgent need for proactive next-generation security measures with fraud detection and intelligent device identification for corporate accounts and online transactions.” In 2013, identity theft affected more than 13 million U.S. consumers and accounted for more than $18 billion in losses. As technologies evolve and information security tightens, the savvy nature of fraudsters becomes more sophisticated. As a result, fraud management needs to evolve and include both offline and online fraud strategies to provide a panoramic view of the customer. In order to achieve this, authentication processes need to become seamless and straightforward to allow both the consumer and the business to feel confident in the authentication process while creating a positive customer experience. “Serious risks are emerging for consumers and businesses as fraudsters identify new targets to attack. The monetary cost of fraud losses can be high, but the impact a loss or breach can have on customer relationships and brand integrity can be even higher,” said Chung. “Combining comprehensive authentication processes with proportionate measures to monitor user activities and protect consumer data throughout the life cycle is a competitive requirement in today’s market.” The Future of Fraud and Identity event will take place on Oct. 21 in New York City, from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Helen Mills Event Space at 137 West 26th Street.

According to new research from Experian Marketing Services, a recognized leader in data-driven marketing, 90 percent of marketers struggle to move beyond single-channel marketing programs to optimize their marketing across channels or around the customer. The company today announced an expansion of its strategic, cross-channel consulting offerings to address this need and help organizations increase the sophistication and effectiveness of their marketing programs. Marketers can now take a free online assessment to discover where their organization falls on Experian’s Marketing Sophistication Curve The new program, which offers marketers strategic guidance around common marketing pain points, is designed to help them progress up Experian’s Marketing Sophistication CurveSM. The curve is a framework and road map that allows organizations to accurately assess the state of their marketing operations and identify the steps necessary for creating individualized marketing experiences around the customer. “Recognizing the need to change and knowing how to make that happen are two entirely different things,” said Matt Seeley, president, Experian Marketing Services, North America. “While the industry is exploding with marketing clouds and automation technology, most organizations have unique challenges that off-the-shelf software doesn’t address. Experian’s Marketing Sophistication Curve offers marketers help with the first critical step in that process: an understanding of where you are today and what you need to do tomorrow.” Experian Marketing Services is offering marketers a chance to identify where they fall on the curve on its Website. The four phases of Experian’s Marketing Sophistication Curve The culmination of more than 30 years of experience working with the world’s top brands to improve their marketing effectiveness, Experian’s Marketing Sophistication Curve outlines four primary phases of marketing sophistication: Phase I: Single-Channel Optimization — Brands at this stage seek new sources of data and analytical approaches to do more with existing programs and tools. They struggle to achieve a higher performance from data-driven campaigns. Phase II: Multichannel Marketing — Organizations at this stage engage customers across multiple channels but seek greater consistency. They struggle to incorporate newer channels, like mobile, into their messaging strategy. Phase III: Cross-Channel Marketing — The marketing organization at this stage implements cross-channel marketing programs but struggles to organize data and target campaign content around customers easily, consistently and in useful time frames. Phase IV: Cross-Channel Optimization — This is the apex of modern marketing, where customer context, location and timing merge with every imaginable form of customer data to create a single, shared and immediate view of the customer across all channels. Improving marketing by addressing the common pain points Experian Marketing Services’ new cross-channel consulting program offers marketers a set of new bundled offerings around three common pain points that must be addressed as marketers move from one phase of the curve to the next: acquisition, growth and retention, and win-back. “As new technologies and channels are introduced, consumer behavior changes, and in return how we assess and approach these traditional marketing issues needs to evolve,” continued Seeley. “The curve’s framework and the addition of the new strategic consulting bundles to our existing portfolio are part of our long-term commitment to be both a superior marketing technology provider and a strategic partner for leading marketers around the world.”

Experian Consumer Services in association with Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America, recently launched a Spanish-language, credit-focused product and online financial resource center for the U.S. Hispanic community called Crédito y Más. The new product was developed to improve Hispanics access to credit education and resources. With Crédito y Más, consumers can check their credit score, receive a credit report, and have credit monitoring, among other benefits and access the information in Spanish or English. One of the most valuable features is the Centro de Información™, a robust resource center with articles, videos, financial calculators, a glossary of key credit terms and more.

How can I improve my credit score? That’s a question thousands of consumers ask Experian every day. This question is asked even more frequently now that lenders are sending an estimated 120 million credit-score disclosures each year to consumers when they are denied credit or are offered terms that are less favorable than those offered to others. These score disclosures provide consumers with basic information about the score used in a transaction and direct them to the national credit bureaus if they have any questions. However, when consumers ask Experian how they can improve their credit standing, it’s difficult to respond in an easy and consumer-friendly way. The difficulty arises because, although we want to help, the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) puts substantial roadblocks between credit bureaus and consumers.

Just a little over a week ago, I was in New Orleans surrounded by interesting, engaging and financially-savvy people with a common interest. All of these people were brought together for FinCon Expo, which took place from September 18-21. It was not only a tremendous financial media community networking event, it was an opportunity to learn, grow and find inspiration. From the Experian perspective, it was an opportunity to further build and focus on our social channels as a way to reach consumers and provide education and dialog around credit and financial empowerment. The two-day conference featured an expo hall where one could score some great information (along with some cool swag), keynote sessions that were led by powerful speakers like Jeff Goins, Farnoosh Torabi and Chris Ducker, and a full daily schedule packed with educational sessions and panel discussions (and of course, a lot of beignets served along the way).

The power of data is good. Couple it with analytics and it becomes great. Derive real and tangible insight from this process, and you are left with a very potent tool to affect real change and do a lot of good in the process. At Experian, we have deep experience harnessing the power of data, in fact, we have been doing it since 1897. Using our insights to help merchants and consumers by providing an annual credit reference directory, we were using “big data” before big data was a buzz word.