Real Life Stories

Beaverbrooks
"It happened to my company"

In 2001, Beaverbrooks launched its Web site, which has proven to be very successful. Since the launch, sales via this channel have seen 100 % growth year on year and online sales now equate to the equivalent of three Beaverbrooks' superstores. Selling via the Internet, however, is not without its challenges. The value of items that can be ordered from Beaverbrooks online can range from less than one hundred to many thousands of pounds. As a result of this, and also due to the fact that jewellery can be easily re-sold, the Web site became a prime target for criminals.

When the site was first launched it had no fraud prevention measures in place and it was hit by groups of organised criminals in fraud rings. Fraudsters would order an item of jewellery online using stolen credit card details or a stolen identity. The jewellery would then be delivered to the fraudster at a holding address or intercepted during delivery. Obviously this causes a tremendous amount of stress for the individual whose card details or identity have been stolen. However, it also has a significant impact on the retailer. The money for the stolen item is generally refunded to the victim of the fraud by his or her bank. This lost revenue is then 'charged back' to the retailer via the bank.

To try to reduce the levels of fraud, suspicious transactions were investigated using a manual process, such as checking the electoral roll or phone directories. Unfortunately, this process could take weeks, leading to some genuine customers having to wait for their jewellery. When evaluating the process, Beaverbrooks clearly identified that they needed more robust and customer-friendly measures to tackle fraud.

To resolve the issue, Beaverbroooks' installed Authenticate Pro, an electronic identity checking tool, into their customer application form. Once the contact details for the order are submitted an identity check is performed. Data provided by the consumer is matched against information held on Experian's databases, flagging any suspicious activity that could indicate identity fraud, account takeover or a bogus delivery address. An approval decision is returned immediately, which gives Beaverbrooks confidence that the order is genuine. Since implementing the software, Beaverbrooks has seen a reduction in online fraud. Customer service has also improved as Beaverbrooks is now able to confirm.

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Marc
"It happened to me"

A 22-year-old  assistant manager with a financial institution in Manchester, never gave much thought to identity fraud until he received an email last November from Alliance & Leicester telling him that his 'application for a credit card was being processed'. Marc hadn't applied for a credit card so he contacted A&L, who immediately cancelled the application. Unfortunately the criminal - who had got hold of Marc's date of birth, email and postal addresses among other bits of key information, such as his salary – had applied for other loans and cards and Marc continued to receive emails alerting him to new applications under his name.

Concerned, Marc contacted the police but was still extremely worried about the extent of the criminal's activity under his name and how this could affect his credit score as he had been planning to get a loan to buy a new car. It was also time consuming and extremely frustrating dealing with lenders individually to try and cancel each application and get removed from their records.

At this point Marc saw an advert for a credit reference agency and joined immediately to check his credit report. Once registered, Marc found a further five applications in his name that were fraudulent. The Victims of Fraud team at Experian stepped in to help Marc, and a note was attached to his credit report explaining that he had been the victim of attempted ID fraud. Enquiries were then launched with each of the organisations involved to help Marc recover his identity and rectify his credit report as soon as possible. Marc was given regular progress reports until the matter was fully resolved.

Marc said, "It was a huge relief. Before this happened I never thought twice about ID fraud and certainly didn't think I'd end up becoming a victim of it. I'm now extremely vigilant about getting rid of my confidential information to make sure that it's not out there for criminals to exploit and I check my credit report every week to make sure no further applications have been made in my name fraudulently. It may seem like a chore at the time but having these simple processes in place will hopefully save a lot of hassle and heartache down the line."

Recent research by CreditExpert found that almost two thirds (63%) of victims of identity fraud discovered they had become a victim by noticing fraudulent activity on their credit report, while 15% of victims discovered their identity had been compromised after being contacted by a financial services company. Safeguarding all your private information and monitoring your credit report helps to ensure you are one step ahead of fraudsters.

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Stuart
"It can happen to you too"

Stuart runs his own coaching and training company for businesses. He had his wallet stolen whilst attending a training course in Northampton. As soon as he noticed, he called all his banks to put a stop on his cards, but due to the fact that he was told he did not answer all the security questions correctly, the banks were unable to take any action. On returning home, his wife informed him that someone from the council had called earlier that day, claiming they had a returned cheque from a council tax refund, and were calling to check Stuart's address. She gave the caller their address and corrected him when he got Stuart's mother's maiden name wrong. Stuart's bank had also called that day. Unable to get in contact with him, they said they would call back later, and reassured his wife that everything was fine.

What in fact had happened was that criminals had used the personal information from Stuart's credit card, driving licence and conversation with his wife to fake his identity and fraudulently take £4,000 from his business account, £300 from his personal (bank account), £14,000 from his Visa card, spent £2,500 to buy a video camera and £1,000 in a clothing shop. The incident was seriously stressful for both Stuart and his wife and affected their business and personal accounts.

For Stuart this was a major distraction to his coaching and training business due to the time spent trying to solve the crime. It took four months to get his identity back and deal with the repercussions of the crime. In addition, Stuart had to go away for a business trip the day after the incident, and had to borrow money to fund it.

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