Three Ways to Quickly Alert Customers to Potential Identity Fraud with Credit Monitoring
It’s no secret identity theft poses a significant threat to your customers and business. In this blog, we’ll touch on consumer concerns about identity theft, and explore three ways you can help them swiftly spot suspicious activity utilising credit monitoring and engagement.
How concerned are consumers about identity theft?
Drawing from findings within TransUnion’s 2024 Global Fraud Report, 53% of consumers surveyed were worried about falling victim to fraud. And these fears are not unfounded; 47% of consumers surveyed said they were targeted by a fraud scheme, 10% of which were targeted by identity theft in the last three months. TransUnion device data shows identity fraud is seeing a year-on-year increase of 17.7% between 2022–2023, and there are no signs of a slowdown.
How can your business use credit monitoring to help your customers detect fraud?
1. Enable your customers to regularly manage and monitor their credit reports
A credit report is more than just a tool to gauge credit access and improvement. In reality, credit reports provide consumers a convenient way to monitor their credit profiles, enabling them to quickly spot inaccuracies and potential suspicious activity on their accounts. Our Q1 Consumer Pulse Survey showed 78% of consumers think it’s important to monitor their credit reports — so why not empower them with access through your business. That way, you make it easier for them to keep an eye on their credit health, providing them with regular alerts and engagements that can add value to your relationships and keep them coming back to your app.
We also found 35% of consumers surveyed already monitor their credit reports for accuracy and 27% to help protect against fraud. With added encouragement to monitor, along with alerts to changes in their reports, you could help more consumers stay poised to spot signs of potential fraudulent activity and keep on top of their financial well-being.
2. Instantly alert customers to credit search activity on their credit reports
While it’s great 68% of consumers said they review their credit reports, only 3% do so weekly. Checking for accuracy and potential fraud is smart, but if consumers aren’t checking frequently, if they’ve been targeted, most won’t become aware until afterwards when their creditworthiness may have already been damaged.
By notifying your customers in real time every time a credit search is conducted on their reports, you can get their attention and prompt them to review search details and take action quickly when needed. This demonstrates your commitment to your customers’ financial health and well-being, and enables all parties to get a grip on fraudulent activity before it spirals.
3. Help customers who’ve been a victim of fraud look out for subsequent attacks
Despite best efforts to detect and prevent identity fraud before it happens, unfortunately, fraudsters do manage to obtain and use personal details to apply for credit in your customers’ names. Often these cybercriminals then share this information on the dark web, resulting in more bad actors using it to commit further fraud. This can lead to several credit application attempts on victims’ accounts, making an already difficult situation worse. Providing your customers with dark web and credit report monitoring insights and alerts arms them with greater control — and can help them spot fraud and take action quicker.
In summary
Credit monitoring and engagement are powerful tools in the fight against identity fraud for your business and customers. By enabling awareness and detection on an ongoing basis, instantly alerting your customers to activity in the event of credit searches and supporting those affected by fraud, you bring a more human element to business and further cultivate trust.
To learn more about how credit education and engagement can help you empower customers, visit our credit monitoring solution webpage CreditView or get in touch via the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Q1 2024 TransUnion’s Consumer Pulse study, which is based on the survey of 1,000 adults in the UK, conducted between 6 and 10 February 2024.
Contact Us
We're sorry, your request failed. Please try again in a little while.