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TransUnion introduces a new line of defence in the fight against fraud

29 September 2011 TransUnion

TransUnion's Authentication Services to give organisations new levels of confidence in terms of identity verification.

Recent statistics from the South Africa Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) (September 2011) show approximately a 60 percent increase in the number of stolen identities reported in the first half of 2011 compared to a year ago. To assist the financial industry in combating this scourge of fraud, TransUnion – a leading global credit management company - announced that it has launched a new and improved authentication service, which offers businesses more rigorous levels of customer authentication.

TransUnion’s Authentication Service leverages typical personal/financial information together with ‘out of wallet’ information, mined from a diverse set of proprietary databases, including motor vehicle, motor vehicle insurance and retail accounts. Consequently, it’s infinitely harder for one fraudster to collate this breadth and depth of information for the purposes of impersonation and theft.

“Businesses are traditionally relying on a limited set of verification questions, derived only from the information that they hold on that customer, said Geoff Miller, CEO of the TransUnion Credit Bureau. “Given the increased sophistication of fraudsters, the integrity of these data sources are ever more vulnerable to phishing attacks and are frequently accessed by external parties wishing to impersonate actual customers.

In today’s commercial landscape, fewer consumer interactions are conducted face-to-face, which is obviously the perfect scenario for impersonation fraud. Increasingly consumers engage with call centres and virtual channels to increase credit limits, apply for new cards, change services or amend personal details. While these new consumer communication channels support a wide range of business benefits, it also creates a greater need for organisations to verify the identity of their customers virtually.

In addition to the authentication services, TransUnion now offers the option of a One Time Pin (OTP) service, which is sent to the consumer as an additional security control. This OTP service, coupled with a dynamic rules engine that allows for ‘intelligent question selection’, offers businesses an unprecedented level of authentication.

“Implementing a more rigorous authentication process will enable you to reduce your risk of falling victim to customer impersonation. By mitigating your exposure to fraud, you can protect yourbusiness against substantial financial losses, reputational damage and potential legal costs,” said Miller. “These Authentication Services help streamline processes, reduce turnaround time, greatly reduce physical document collection and enhance reliability – all benefits which can be passed down to their customers.”

TransUnion’s Authentication Services form part of a comprehensive suite of anti-fraud solutions, including prevention, detection, ID management and investigation/response tool, that used together provide an even finer net of protection.

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