Experian is in final preparations for our upcoming Vision Conference, taking place May 4-7 in Dallas, Texas at the Omni Dallas Hotel. This year’s theme “Quality Growth – Defining new strategies” is supported consistently throughout our event agenda starting with an impressive group of speakers in our general session including President Bill Clinton, Chief Investment Strategist James W. Paulsen Ph.D. and Heisman Trophy winner, Super Bowl MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer and Executive Chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Roger Staubach. Each of these outstanding speakers would be incredible on their own, so hearing their message over the course of four days at Vision 2014 is something not to be missed. An Extensive Array of Breakout Session Tracks Breakthrough Data and Analytics The break-through data and analytics track will share information on innovative ways that Experian and its partners are responding to the newest challenges and opportunities facing their organizations. Session topics will cover new technologies and how they are being harnessed to address and make sense of today’s rapidly expanding data environment. Other sessions will highlight break-through analytic techniques that reveal deeper perspectives in consumer behavior and the opportunities these new insights create. Confident Growth This track is all about gaining insight into strategies for acquiring new consumers in a constantly evolving market. Focus areas include enhanced targeting based on current consumer behaviors, moving beyond traditional methods into digital channels and more effective prioritization for a holistic consumer view. Risk Redefined The risk redefined track will deliver unique perspectives on risk-management issues. Sessions provide risk-oriented discussions across a broad range of topics, including acquisitions, account and customer management, loss mitigation and collections. The risk redefined track will have attendees rethinking how they approach risk in their organizations. Unleashing Business Lending Following years of uncertainty and increased regulation, business lending is ready to be unleashed. Learn how to understand new commercial market conditions, how to recognize what business owners want in a financial institution and how to deliver on those needs in the marketplace. Discover Business Information The discover business information track provides strategic insights for businesses within the commercial credit space. Key areas of focus include the health of U.S. businesses, trends for small-business and commercial lending, finding more profitable small-business customers and sharing best practices for growing commercial portfolios while reducing risk. Beyond Financial Services Beyond Financial Services provides an opportunity to learn about the issues affecting industries outside the traditional banking community. These sessions will address the unique needs of automotive lenders, telecommunications and the public sector. Fraud Prevention Discuss current and emerging fraud prevention and identity authentication techniques spanning private, public and healthcare sectors. Hear directly from peers, service providers and industry experts about how you can make tactical and strategic improvements to current operational processes and your future road maps. Hot topics Explore innovations and new concepts related to the challenges of the ever-changing market. There will be panels and case studies by industry experts on the regulatory environment, developments to improve loss forecasting, addressing data integrity and dispute management concerns, as well as growth of mobile offers through optimization tools and unique analyses of Millennial borrowers. Connect while at Vision Experian will be sharing lots of great content from the breakout sessions via our event blog in addition to several social media channels, be sure to follow our updates: Follow us on twitter @experianvision hashtag #vision2014. You can also interact with our event speakers directly and can find many of them on our event Twitter list. Are you following our LinkedIn page? You should, we will be posting periodically to our special page on LinkedIn. Share your Vision 2014 experience with your friends and colleagues by posting photos to Instagram using hashtag #vision2014 – remember to follow our Instagram feed. Would you like to attend Vision 2014? You can find more information here.  

In honor of Earth Day, Experian Automotive released findings from an analysis comparing electric and hybrid* vehicles. Findings from the analysis showed that in 2013, more than 45 percent of hybrid car buyers were 56 years old or older, while roughly 26 percent of electric car buyers were of the same age. The greater percentage (55 percent) of electric buyers were between the ages of 36 years old and 55 years old. Additionally, nearly 21 percent of consumers purchasing an electric car had an average household income of $175,000 or more. Conversely, only 12 percent of consumers purchasing a hybrid had an average household income of the same level. *For this analysis, hybrid vehicles were defined as any vehicle with multiple power alternatives. To view the full infographic, visit http://ex.pn/1k4a0BT

The Information Age transformed our way of life.  It gives us new ways to communicate, have instant access to resources and the power to share information freely. Unfortunately, the luxuries of this new age pose unique threats to consumers that were inconceivable in years past. It opens doors for thieves to capitalize on unsuspecting and innocent consumers.  Fraud and identity theft is a booming business. Fraud and identity theft are important concerns for people today. Understanding the tools available to help you prevent fraud and recover from it can help you reduce concerns about your personal information being compromised. Experian understands its responsibility to educate consumers and develop resources that help consumers protect their information and take the necessary steps to resolve a crime against you. Two options available for identity theft victims to protect their credit are fraud alerts and security freezes. It is important to note that security freezes are an extreme measure. If you are planning to apply for credit or other services such as cellular telephone, rent, or utilities in the near future freezing your credit may not be advisable.

More than 20 years ago, Experian became the first credit bureau to create a consumer education program. We started the program because we wanted to arm consumers with the right information and resources to help them understand the fundamentals of credit management and the benefits of having good credit. Good credit provides attractive mortgage options, better interest rates on cars, and the ability to start a new business venture. A credit score is checked when you are shopping for these types of loans. A credit score turns credit report information into a number reflecting the risk of lending to you. Regularly checking your credit report ensures the most accurate depiction of your credit history to these lenders. An error in your credit file can potentially affect your credit score or can delay the process of securing the loan or obtaining the best interest rates. Should you find an error in your credit report, please follow the steps below or check out this video to help you in the dispute process. Be sure to have a current copy of your Experian credit report before you begin. For instructions on how to check your credit report, please click here.

Getting a copy of your credit report is the easiest first step to take control of your finances. A personal credit report contains details about your financial behavior and identification information. It is an easy-to-read summary of your credit accounts and total debt—both existing balances and available limits. Under federal law you are entitled to a copy of your credit report every twelve months. To obtain your credit report go to www.annualcreditreport.com. Check out this video and guide below with step by step instructions on how to check your credit report.

Did you know that April is the official month for promoting financial literacy? Being aware of your credit and where you stand is important all year long, but the next 30 days will be dedicated specifically to educating consumers on all aspects of personal finance from managing your credit, paying off debt and saving for your first home or child’s secondary education to how to invest and plan well for retirement. We know how these topics can be overwhelming and intimidating. It’s one of the reasons that our weekly #CreditChat on twitter and Ask Experian column focuses on these subjects all year round. We want to give consumers the right resources and access to experts in an effort to help consumers change their financial behavior – that is part of our commitment. Join us all month long in our special Google+ hangouts, tweet chats (#CreditChat), and visit our blog for some exciting new resources created just for you! April 2 – #CreditChat with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling April 4 – Google+ Hangout Q&A with Rod Griffin April 9 – #Creditchat with the Financial Literacy Congressional Caucus April 11 – Google+ Hangout Q&A with Rod Griffin and Becky Frost April 16 – #CreditChat with the National Jump$tart Coalition April 18 – Google+ Hangout Q&A with Maxine Sweet and Rod Griffin April 23 – #CreditChat with Betterment April 25 – Google+ Hangout Q&A with Maxine Sweet and Rod Griffin April 29 – Google+ Hangout Q&A with the National Jump$tart Coalition April 30 – #CreditChat with AARP

It’s no surprise that cybercrime and data breaches are hot topics for media and bloggers these days. Unfortunately, because of all the attention paid to these topics, we’ve seen some inaccurate information about Experian circulating in news outlets and other Web sites. I want to take a moment to clarify the facts and events, including Experian’s involvement in the case involving Court Ventures, a company that collects and aggregates information from public records; US Info Search, a company that provides location and other data for people and companies; and a criminal named Hieu Minh Ngo. In fact, you may have seen recent news reports that a number of states are looking into Experian as it relates to this issue that was originally raised last year. First, let me say that this is an unfortunate situation and one that we continue to take very seriously. And we of course will fully cooperate with investigators, and plan to provide any information that will assist them in their investigation. I also want to be very clear: No Experian database was accessed in this incident. In fact, the database that was accessed in this criminal scheme was owned and controlled by US Info Search, a company that is completely separate from Experian. How was Experian involved? In March 2012, Experian purchased the assets of Court Ventures, a company that focuses on collecting court records that contain limited personally identifiable information (PII). As a side to its primary business, Court Ventures, at the time of acquisition, had a contract with US Info Search. That contract allowed customers of Court Ventures to access US Info Search’s data to find the address of a person in order to determine which court records to review. After Experian’s acquisition of Court Ventures, the U.S. Secret Service notified us that Court Ventures had been and was continuing to resell data from a U.S. Info Search database to a third party, possibly engaged in illegal activity. The suspect in this case posed as a legitimate business owner and obtained access to U.S. Info Search data through Court Ventures prior to the time Experian acquired the company. Following notice by the U.S. Secret Service, Experian discontinued reselling U.S. Info Search data and worked closely and in full cooperation with law enforcement to bring Vietnamese national Hieu Minh Ngo, the perpetrator, to justice. Ngo pleaded guilty to his crimes several weeks ago and will be sentenced in June. Additionally, Experian has filed suit against the former owners of Court Ventures for permitting the sale of US Info Search's data to Ngo, and intends to hold those individuals fully responsible for their conduct in permitting the sale of data to an identity thief unbeknownst to Experian. We look forward to addressing this issue through proper legal channels. Was Experian’s credit data compromised? No Experian database was compromised. Some news reports and sensational headlines are saying that Experian lost 200 million consumer records. This is not the case, as it was not Experian’s database that was accessed, but rather US Info Search’s database was the original source of the consumer information. Although we do not know the exact number of records actually accessed at this point, we know that 200 million is false and that the actual number is much lower. What is Experian doing about it? In terms of notifying consumers, Experian does not know which consumers' information was disclosed as the data did not come from an Experian database and no other information now available to Experian would identify which consumers should be notified. Experian has engaged US Info Search to determine whether it is possible to identify the consumers who actually have been affected. Those efforts have not yet produced a reliable process for identifying consumers who appropriately should be notified but efforts are continuing. This is a situation that Experian takes very seriously and we acknowledge the concern consumers may have about this illegal access. We are actively pursuing the facts and we are working with investigators to help uncover what records may have been affected. You have our commitment.

Santander, one of the UK's leading providers of current accounts, mortgages, loans and savings products, has signed a five year contract for the deployment of Experian’s Originations and Customer Management products on their PowerCurve™ platform, to support its customer acquisitions and portfolio monitoring processes. The PowerCurve Originations and PowerCurve Customer Management solutions will help Santander support customer acquisitions and portfolio review processes across their retail and business banking products The PowerCurve platform allows Santander the ability to create unique profiles for each of its customers, encompassing each customer’s entire relationship with the business. This includes scores and metrics for risk, affordability, profitability, propensity to pay and lifetime value. Mark Staveley, Chief Credit Officer at Santander UK, comments: "The ability to share strategies across products, portfolios and lifecycle stages was pivotal to our software selection and partner of choice. We were looking for a partner with proven experience of delivering highly complex, large scale credit risk infrastructure projects under demanding timescales, and to work in an integrated manner with the business.  We selected Experian because of the business’ ability to meet our requirements and experience in undertaking platform hosting solutions." You can read the full Santander press release here: http://bit.ly/1jDyHYR

Pinterest is the top social media traffic driver for retailer Websites; Amazon.com is the top source of traffic from social sites. According to new research from Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, social media Websites are playing an increasingly important role in driving traffic to other Websites, including retail Websites and even other social networking sites, at the expense of search engines and portal Websites. As of March 2014, social media sites now account for 7.72 percent of all traffic to retail Websites, up from 6.59 percent in March 2013. Further, Pinterest, more than Facebook or YouTube, is supplying the greatest percentage of its downstream traffic to retail sites. This trend, among others, is highlighted in Experian Marketing Services’ recently released 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report. The report is an annual go-to resource for marketers looking for key industry benchmarks, insights, technology trends and consumer data. “While search still dominates, social media is becoming a significant source of traffic across the Internet as consumers increasingly use sites like Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube more as discovery platforms,” said Bill Tancer, general manager of global research, Experian Marketing Services. “Many of today’s marketers are leveraging the power of social communities to increase customer engagement and expand their brand’s reach. For retailers, all eyes are on Pinterest.” According to the report, more retailers are directing their customers to social media within their email campaigns. Ninety-six percent of marketers now promote social media in their emails, and in 2013, Pinterest had the greatest year-over-year increase. Pinterest is now being promoted by 64 percent of brands within emails. Amazon.com is the top source of downstream traffic from Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube After visiting Facebook, YouTube or Pinterest, consumers are visiting Amazon.com more frequently than any other retailer Website. The top five retail sites downstream from Facebook: Amazon.com Walmart Zulily Target Beyond the Rack The top five retail sites downstream from Youtube: Amazon.com Walmart GameStop Crutchfield Target The top five retail sites downstream from Pinterest: Amazon.com Target Zulily Walmart Nordstrom “Social media continues to grow as an influential source of traffic for retail sites, and it’s important that marketers understand what is driving customers to their Web page,” said Tancer. “Amazon is clearly benefitting from this trend across all of the major social networks. Meanwhile, gaming and electronic retailers GameStop and Crutchfield are top downstream sites for YouTube, which is likely due to enthusiasts sharing videos of game performance and setup, and how-to videos for electronic enthusiasts.” Social drives more traffic to other social Websites In addition, social media Websites increasingly are responsible for driving traffic to other social sites. Upstream traffic from social networking Websites rose 20 percent in 2013 over 2012. Despite still driving the greatest share of traffic to social networking sites at 39.1 percent, search engines’ share declined 13 percent year-over-year. Upstream industries visited before social networking and forum sites 2013 versus 2012 Industry Click share 2013 Year-over-year difference Search engines 39.1% -13% Social networking and forums 15.1% 20% Email services 8.4% 18% Portal front pages 5.4% -41% Multimedia 5.0% 41% Games 2.5% 16% Software 1.6% 16% Television 1.6% 74% Reference 1.2% 28% Department stores 1.1% 48% Source: Experian Marketing Services’ 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report The 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report is available via a free download at http://ex.pn/PpijOx. The 2014 Digital Marketer webcast hosted by Bill Tancer can be viewed at: http://ex.pn/P2IFFd.