As the scale of Corporate ID fraud becomes more apparent, with estimates that the direct and indirect costs could be as high as £50 million per annum, leading business information expert, Equifax, is tackling the problem with new anti-fraud tools.
St£rling is the police initiative targeting criminals profiting from fraud and money laundering and offers Equifax customers an additional level of information in the fight against corporate ID fraud.
The first service introduced by Equifax is a Fraud Alert system which uses information about reported suspect and confirmed frauds from both the Metropolitan Police and from Equifax’s customer database. The Fraud Alert appears on Equifax Optima online report of the company in question and includes a description of the nature of the fraud or suspected fraud as supplied by the Police St£rling Liaison Team, giving businesses greater support in identifying corporate ID fraud.
Neil Munroe, external affairs director of Equifax commented, “Equifax is at the forefront of fraud prevention and the new Fraud Alert, in association with the ‘St£rling’ Team, helps us maintain this position. The Fraud Alert offers a quick link through our Optima report directly to the information concerning the fraud, helping businesses make informed decisions and effectively assess which companies to trade with.”
In addition, Equifax has introduced a Fraud Watch Service which allows businesses to proactively report incidences of corporate ID fraud to which they have been victims using an online form.
The data from returned forms will be assessed by Equifax’s corporate ID fraud experts and relevant information added to the Optima reports. Reported information is also passed to the ‘St£rling’ Team as part of the open communication between them and Equifax.
Munroe concludes, “Equifax Optima already offers a great depth of information, giving businesses the ability to make better decisions, using the full scope of Equifax’s databases. The new Fraud Alert is part of our ongoing commitment to developing and enhancing our anti-fraud products. Not only can we alert our customers to fraudulent activity, but through the Fraud Watch Service Equifax is providing a fast effective way for them to report fraud.
“Through these two initiatives we have created a two-way street of communication between our team and our customers. In addition, our close working relationship with Project St£rling means Equifax customers have access to a higher level of information than ever before.”
