Experian reveals the five key factors that make people and businesses more vulnerable to cyber fraud

EMEA, 19 May, 2016. Experian, the global information services company, has identified five key factors currently making people and organisations more vulnerable to large-scale cyber fraud.

Speaking at the renowned Merchant Risk Council EU Congress on May 19^th in Seville, Spain, Experian’s Global Identity and Fraud Director, Hugh Steed, shared his insights with nearly 500 eCommerce fraud and payments professionals.

1.  A wealth of stolen data available to fraudsters. Wholesale data theft is one of the fastest growing crimes facing people and organisations today, with hundreds of millions of digital identities compromised every year.   Fraudsters are increasingly targeting on-line credentials over previously preferred data, such as credit cards.

2. The exponential growth of malware. After data breaches, malware is the criminal’s key method of obtaining digital identities. From mobile applications to traditional desktop platforms, malware manifests itself in many different forms and its volume is ever increasing. Fraudsters are targeting both end users and enterprises to acquire these valuable credentials for use in sophisticated frauds.

3. The frequent username and password reuse by consumers. Experian’s research revealed that the majority of internet users consistently use a small set of usernames and passwords to secure multiple different accounts; including social media, email and online shopping sites. More specifically, people have on average up to 26 online accounts protected by only five different passwords. This greatly increases the risk that fraudsters can use data stolen from one source to successfully access other accounts held by the same user.

4.  An increase of multi-channel interaction between customers and business. People now have access to multiple digital and physical channels, enabling them to interact with businesses, manage accounts and make transactions. However, this diverse channel environment also facilitates the work of cyber criminals as each open channel is an opportunity to commit fraud and securing these channels is a significant challenge for enterprises.

5. The trade-off between security and user experience. As companies consider the necessary steps required to increase online account security, they are conscious that they cannot risk adversely affecting the customer experience. Customers making transactions online today expect a seamless journey and are likely to be put off by onerous visible security procedures.

Hugh commented: "Experian’s research shows that fraud today is often a complex cycle that starts with data theft and proceeds through a set of discrete staging points, ending with a fraudulent transaction.

“Rather than being instantaneous, the fraud process can span weeks or even months often with different criminal organisations involved and data changing hands. However, the very nature of this cycle means that there are systems that can be implemented to detect and stop such fraud early and before it causes losses that are significant in scale.  To put things into context, for a handful of our largest customers alone, we have helped them detect and prevent fraud worth over $500 million dollars.”  

Felipe Fernandez-Atela, President of Experian in Spain, said: "Protecting people and businesses from the threat of fraud is one of our main goals. In fact, companies using our fraud prevention solutions consistently outperform the industry benchmarks in areas such as ‘decline rates’ and ‘fraud rate by order’ – both of which are typically 15 times below the industry average.  We have the expertise, both in our products, services and skills of our people  to help ensure society is more protected against this type of crime.”

-ENDS-

For more information check Experian website or contact with:

Kreab

Óscar Torres otorres@kreab.com  

Elena Fuster efuster@kreab.com

91 702 71 70

Experian

Ana M. González

ana.mgonzalez@experian.com

91 530 03 70

About Experian

We are the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to our clients around the world. We help businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. We also help people to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft. In 2015, we were named by Forbes magazine as one of the ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’.

We employ approximately 17,000 people in 37 countries and our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2016 was US$4.6 billion.

To find out more about our company, please visit http://www.experianplc.com or watch our documentary, ‘Inside Experian’.