COSTA MESA, Calif. -

Experian is ramping up its efforts to curtail synthetic identity fraud as well as other threats, with one solution designed for the company to have “skin in the game.”

To combat a growing threat that’s expected to drive $48 billion in annual online payment fraud losses by 2023 according to Juniper Research, Experian recently announced the launch of Sure Profile. Experian claims to be the first company with an offering to combat synthetic identity fraud that is integrated into the credit profile with “market-leading” assurance.

With Sure Profile, Experian said it is putting “skin in the game” by sharing fraud losses with the lender or finance company if the losses occur on assured profiles.

Sure Profile can validate consumer identities, detects profiles that have an increased risk for synthetic identity fraud and helps cover losses resulting from synthetic identity fraud for assured profiles.

Leveraging the capabilities of the Experian Ascend Identity Platform, Sure Profile utilizes Experian’s data assets and data quality to drive advanced analytics that set a higher level of protection for lenders and finance companies. Powered by newly developed machine learning and artificial intelligence models, Experian indicated Sure Profile can offer lenders and finance companies a streamlined approach to define and detect synthetic identities early in the originations process.

Experian’s Sure Profile can differentiate between real people and potentially risky applicants, so lenders and finance companies can confidently increase application approvals with less risk.

“Experian can confidently define and help detect synthetic fraud. That’s why we can help stop it,” said Craig Boundy, chief executive officer of Experian North America. “Experian stands behind our data with assurance given to our clients. It’s better for lenders and it’s better for consumers.”

Experian expects to authenticate most credit applications through Sure Profile. In the cases where the identity can’t be assured, the company will deliver additional fraud risk indicators, so that lenders can take the right next steps to verify the potential borrower’s identity and prevent fraud.

To date, Experian acknowledged that detecting synthetic identities has been a significant challenge for lenders and finance companies because there’s not an industry standard or a single definition that can be used to establish the legitimacy of an identity.

In addition, Experian pointed out that understanding the financial impact of synthetics has been difficult for lenders and finance companies as losses tied to synthetic identity fraud are typically categorized as defaults or “bad debt.”

Synthetic identity fraud is the fastest growing type of financial crime in the United States, accounting for 10%-15% of lender and finance company losses each year, according to McKinsey & Co.

 Experian said its data also shows that 9% to 15% of credit card losses are due to synthetic fraud.

To create synthetic identities, Experian explained fraudsters use a combination of real and fake information, such as names and Social Security numbers, to create “Frankenstein IDs,” which are used to obtain credit. Synthetic identity fraudsters may also add the identities they create to an existing credit account as an authorized user. In either case, the identity is reported by the financial institution to credit reporting agencies, creating a new record associated with the fraudulent information.

Once established, Experian said the synthetic identity can be used to set up additional fraudulent accounts such as financing for vehicles.

Sure Profile complements Experian’s set of identity protection and fraud management capabilities that address fraud and identity challenges, including account openings, account takeovers, e-commerce fraud and more.

In 2018, Experian launched its free Child ID Scan service and designated Sept. 1 as Child Identity Theft Awareness Day.

In 2019, Experian pointed out it was also the only credit bureau named as one of the 10 participants in the initial rollout of the Social Security Administration’s new electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (eCBSV) service.

For more information on Experian’s Sure Profile, visit https://www.experian.com/business-services/sure-credit-profile.

Experian releases new version of CrossCore

In other company news, Experian also conceded that the ability to recognize consumers confidently and safeguard their digital transactions is becoming increasingly challenging for businesses.

In addition, Experian noted fraud threats continue to rise across the globe as fraudsters take advantage of the COVID-19 global health crisis and rapidly shifting economic conditions.

To help with the ongoing situation, the company highlighted that Experian’s CrossCore combines risk-based authentication, identity proofing and fraud detection into a single cloud platform, which means businesses can more quickly respond to an ever-changing environment. And with flexible decisioning orchestration and advanced analytics, Experian said businesses can make real-time risk decisions throughout the customer lifecycle.

The newly released version of CrossCore can allow businesses to limit fraud losses and reduce unnecessary customer friction which can impact the bottom line.

“Now more than ever, businesses need to lean on capabilities and technology that will allow them to rapidly respond in these challenging times, increase identity confidence in every transaction, and provide a safe and convenient experience for customers,” said E.K. Koh, Experian’s senior vice president of global identity and fraud solutions. “This new CrossCore release enables businesses to easily leverage best-in-class, pre-integrated identity and fraud services through simple self-service.”

The company explained CrossCore combines advanced analytics with Experian’s rich data assets with identity insights and capabilities from its curated partner ecosystem. Businesses can connect any new or existing tools and systems in one place, whether it be Experian’s, their partners’ or their own.

With its built-in strategy design and enhanced workflow, fraud and compliance teams have more control to quickly adjust strategies based on evolving threats and business needs, which helps to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs.

Updates to the new version include the ability for clients to submit dynamic API request payloads, apply progressive risk assessments, apply parallel logic, enable self-service workflow configurations and provide an online business intelligence (BI) module to view transactional volume reports.

Experian thinks these updates will give CrossCore users a simpler way to manage complex orchestration; faster, more scalable performance nd key performance indicators in near real time, all while enabling a personalized and seamless experience for their true customers.

“Recent Aite Group research shows that many banks have seen digital channel usage increase 250% in the wake of the pandemic, so ensuring a seamless and safe customer experience is more important than ever,” said Julie Conroy, research director at Aite Group.

“Platforms such as CrossCore that can enable businesses to nimbly respond to changing patterns of customer behavior as well as rapidly evolving attack tactics are more important than ever, as financial services firms work to balance fraud mitigation with the customer experience,” Conroy continued.

To date, Experian said CrossCore is being used by more than 250 clients worldwide and offers technology and capabilities from multiple leading third-party partners. Experian offers identity verification capabilities specifically designed to deliver comprehensive online fraud management that can be deployed quickly so companies can identify fraudsters better and stop fraud attacks before they happen.

All fraud and identity services are available through the Experian CrossCore platform.