Dec 2014 | Fraud Prevention

This year has already been punctuated by a litany of high-profile frauds, ID thefts and data breaches

We know the fraudsters are flexible, fast, relentless and inventive. They’re also indiscriminate in who they target and will often simply opt for the easiest opportunities.

Staying ahead of them is now a critical challenge for all sectors of industry, business and commerce. But we’re equally keen to see you safeguard your customers and protect your cash flow.

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Here are the top 10 Fraud trends for 2014:

Now, to mark the publication of the latest edition of the Interim Fraud Report, we’ve published a brief snapshot of the top-10 fraud trends already noted this year.

• The rate of detected fraud has risen from 24 to 35 frauds per 10,000 applications*.

• The latest fraud data also shows a significant rise in the detection of identity theft as a proportion of all frauds. In fact identity theft – so-called third-party fraudnow accounts for nearly half (47 per cent) of all fraud cases detected and prevented during the past year* – and it has risen from 30 per cent of all detected frauds in 2013.

• Third-party fraud was found to be most prevalent in applications for cards, savings and loans products.

• But the latest fraud data shows that fraud prevention is also proving more effective than ever.

• Overall, mortgage applications were the highest ranked product in terms of detected fraud. In August 2013, 82 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent – compared to 79 out of every 10,000 applications in August 2014.

• Current account applications saw the largest year-on-year rise in detected fraud, as the number of cases uncovered as fraudulent increased by 60 per cent from August 2013 to August 2014.

• Current account application fraud is the second highest ranked product for detected fraud among financial services products. In August 2014, 56 in every 10,000 current account applications were found to be fraudulent – compared to 35 in every 10,000 applications for August 2013.

• Card application fraud was the third highest detected fraud as at August 2014, with 30 in every 10,000 applications found to be fraudulent. This compares to 16 in every 10,000 applications in August 2013 – showing a significant 47 per cent year-on-year rise in detected card application fraud.

• Of those applications uncovered as fraudulent in August 2014, around 79 per cent were uncovered as third party fraud attempts, making card application fraud the primary target for identity thieves.

• Insurance policy fraud continues to be dominated by consumers – or first-parties.

The latest edition of our Interim Fraud Report offers vital insights into what, who, where and how the criminals are currently operating and the financial products they favour. Also thanks to our Mosaic analysis and mapping, we also highlight which demographic segments and regions are most at-risk, making the report and invaluable must-read for all fraud analysts.

To get your hands on a copy, simply click the link here.

* Based on August 2013 to August 2014 fraud data. Experian works closely with National Hunter and Insurance Hunter, the UK’s leading fraud prevention systems, operated by Experian on behalf of members. The systems enable financial institutions to cross-match applications against more than 100 million previous application records in order to spot commonalities and anomalies that are potentially indicative of fraud for further investigation.