Identity score

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An identity score is a system for detecting identity theft. Identity scores are increasingly being adopted as a means to prevent fraud in business [1] and as a tool to verify and correct public records.

Contents

Identity scores incorporate, a broad set of consumer data that gauges a person's legitimacy. Identity score components can include (but are not limited to) personal identifiers, public records, Internet data, government records, corporate data, predicted behavior patterns based on empirical data, self-assessed behavior patterns, and credit records.

Business and consumer identity scores

Identity scoring was originally developed for use by financial services firms to measure the fraud risk for new customers opening accounts. Typical external credit and fraud checks often fail to detect erroneous background information.

Identity scoring is also being tested as a means for financial institutions to comply with criminal investigations and antiterrorism measures, such as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the USA PATRIOT Act. Usage of fraud verification tools and third-party authentication systems to verify identities and “red flag” suspicious activity is greatly enhanced by identity scoring.

Public records, private records, and credit records

Identity scores are built from collecting information from a variety of sources and analyzing discernible patterns from the total information. These records can generally be broken down into three categories: Public records, private records, and credit records.

Public records can include (but are not limited to) any of the following sources:

Private (non-credit) records can include (but are not limited to) any of the following sources:

Private (credit) records can include (but are not limited to) any of the following sources:

Components

Each identity scoring system uses individual data components to generate their score, meaning that results can vary wildly even for the same individual.

Typical identity score components can include (but are not limited to):

Personally identifying information such as name, address, etc.
Analyzed patterns of behavior from information.
Personally identifying information found on the Internet, such as Web sites, blogs, chat rooms, etc.
Personally identifying information that has been stolen in data breaches and may be used in recognizable patterns of fraud, such as unexplained credit card purchases
Personally identifying information that is being used to create a new false (“synthetic”) identity.

Predictive analytics

Identity scores are sometimes calculated using predictive analytics, the science of taking behavioral data and comparing it against historical patterns to identify potentially risky or fraudulent activity.

By compiling publicly available information and using predictive analytics to gauge the patterns of how the information is used, identity scoring systems can measure the authenticity of a particular identity.

Usage

Identity scoring can be used in a variety of ways, from identity verification and measuring fraud risk on the enterprise level, to preventing fraudulent use of identities and synthetic identity theft on the consumer level. Identity scoring can theoretically provide much more definitive proof of an identity's legitimacy, because of the amount of identifying data it utilizes. Virtually all public information about an individual can be used as data in their identity score.

Credit scores

Credit scores are compiled from information sources relating to credit, such as number of credit accounts held, balances on each account, dates of collection activity, and so on. Credit scores do not measure any financial or personal activity that is not related to credit, and identity fraud that does not involve credit will not appear on your credit report or affect your credit score. Credit scores and the credit scoring system are also very predictable—there are specific steps you follow to improve your credit score, dispute errors in credit reports, etc.

Identity scores are compiled from much larger sources of information, including criminal records, property records, and so on. Identity scoring enables “grading” of patterns of behavior via predictive analytics, from which an identity monitoring service can track an individual's or criminal group's activity across several enterprises, instead of being confined to monitoring just one area.

Identity scores are also much more mutable and “fuzzy” than credit scores, because the source information—public records and personally identifying information—is constantly changing. Every time an individual changes a job, buys or sells property, or has an encounter with law enforcement, this person's public records are altered. Coordinating the information across so many different sources makes it very difficult to fix errors in one's information once they occur.

Where credit scores have a generally accepted model of a three-digit-number (used for the FICO score, the new VantageScore, and credit bureaus' proprietary scores), identity scoring models vary wildly from product to product.

Identity theft

Identity scoring works by matching the information the user provides against billions of records in public databases, ranging from property and tax records to Internet search engines, and calculating it against patterns designed to recognize fraud or identity theft.

Example: John's name and Social Security number were stolen by identity thieves who hacked a stolen laptop. They take her Social Security number and combine it with another stolen name, and use it to open a series of new accounts, including credit cards and retail gift cards. An identity protection system that used identity scoring would alert Wendy that her Social Security number had been compromised.

Because identity scores include much more accurate information and can predict behavior patterns more definitively than credit scores, the Gartner research firm predicted that identity scoring will surpass credit monitoring as the leading identity theft prevention measure by 2009. However, Gartner research analyst Avivah Litan warned that identity scoring was not a foolproof system, as it still relied on the underlying accuracy of the information used.

Breeder documents

There are three types of breeder documents, which are documents designed to verify other identification documents. [2] [ dead link ]

Reliance on these documents to verify identities is flawed, as there is no standardized means to verify that information contained in breeder documents is legitimate. Identity scoring can be used as a tool to authenticate identities on an independent level in cases of employment hiring and information verification.

Currently there is no standard means to verify that information provided on an I-9 work document is legitimate, for example. The desire for industries to quickly hire cheap labor trumps any incentive a business has to check the credentials of their new hires, leading to a “gray market” for stolen identities and contributing to continuing surges in illegal immigration. Tools that employ identity scoring to verify that a person's name and Social Security number match, or that their I-9 data is correct, could cut down on the sale and misuse of personal information while enabling better enforcement of immigration law.

Business

The following companies make use of identity scoring products or systems in their businesses:

Experian’s Fraud Shield product cross-references from their 215-million-entry consumer credit database, and provides risk management and identity verification services from subscriber businesses, as well as an additional score product that combines information from both credit and fraud-related sources.
Fair Isaac introduced the Falcon ID scoring solution in August 2004. Falcon ID uses predictive analytics in its fraud verification process, and enables cross-business information sharing, a benefit Fair Isaac touted as “very good news for businesses in many industries that are working to protect their customers from identity fraud, and very bad news for their common enemy, the perpetrators of ID fraud.”
An identity protection company based in Arlington, VA, MyPublicInfo uses identity scoring as a base for several of its products. The company has announced plans for other consumer identity scoring products in 2007, but has not provided details.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Authentication</span> Act of proving an assertion

Authentication is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicating a person or thing's identity, authentication is the process of verifying that identity. It might involve validating personal identity documents, verifying the authenticity of a website with a digital certificate, determining the age of an artifact by carbon dating, or ensuring that a product or document is not counterfeit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity theft</span> Deliberate use of someone elses identity, usually as a method to gain a financial advantage

Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term identity theft was coined in 1964. Since that time, the definition of identity theft has been legally defined throughout both the U.K. and the U.S. as the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, electronic signatures, fingerprints, passwords, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experian</span> Irish multinational consumer credit reporting company

Experian is a multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more than 25 million U.S. businesses. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Experian is a partner in USPS address validation. It is one of the "Big Three" credit-reporting agencies, alongside TransUnion and Equifax.

TransUnion is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States". Its customers include over 65,000 businesses. Based in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion's 2014 revenue was US$1.3 billion. It is the smallest of the three largest credit agencies, along with Experian and Equifax.

The term "Digital identity" refers to data stored on computer systems relating to individuals, organizations, applications, or devices. For individuals, it involves the collection of personal data that is essential for facilitating automated access to digital services, confirming one's identity on the internet, and allowing digital systems to manage interactions between different parties. It is a component of a person's social identity in the digital realm, often referred to as their online identity.

Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person.

Innovis is the credit reporting division of CBC Companies and is considered the fourth largest consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, behind the “big three” Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the company offers services like fraud protection, credit information, identity verification, and receivables management.

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bureaus.

Identity fraud is the use by one person of another person's personal information, without authorization, to commit a crime or to deceive or defraud that other person or a third person. Most identity fraud is committed in the context of financial advantages, such as accessing a victim's credit card, bank accounts, or loan accounts. False or forged identity documents have been used in criminal activity or in dealings with government agencies, such as immigration. Today, the identities of real persons are often used in the preparation of these false documents. This can lead to bad consequences and trouble.

A credit score is a numerical expression representing the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bureaus.

Internet fraud prevention is the act of stopping various types of internet fraud. Due to the many different ways of committing fraud over the Internet, such as stolen credit cards, identity theft, phishing, and chargebacks, users of the Internet, including online merchants, financial institutions and consumers who make online purchases, must make sure to avoid or minimize the risk of falling prey to such scams.

LifeLock Inc. was an American software company active from 2005 to 2017. The company was best known for its eponymous LifeLock identity theft prevention software, now sold by Gen Digital after the latter acquired LifeLock in 2017. LifeLock's system monitors for identity theft, the use of personal information, and credit score changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Credit card fraud</span> Financial crime

Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is the data security standard created to help financial institutions process card payments securely and reduce card fraud.

Wireless identity theft, also known as contactless identity theft or RFID identity theft, is a form of identity theft described as "the act of compromising an individual’s personal identifying information using wireless mechanics." Numerous articles have been written about wireless identity theft and broadcast television has produced several investigations of this phenomenon. According to Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, wireless identity theft is a serious issue as the contactless (wireless) card design is inherently flawed, increasing the vulnerability to attacks.

In information science, profiling refers to the process of construction and application of user profiles generated by computerized data analysis.

An identity verification service is used by businesses to ensure that users or customers provide information that is associated with the identity of a real person. The service may verify the authenticity of physical identity documents such as a driver's license, passport, or a nationally issued identity document through documentary verification. Additionally, also involve the verification of identity information (fields) against independent and authoritative sources, such as a credit bureau or proprietary government data.

Fraud represents a significant problem for governments and businesses and specialized analysis techniques for discovering fraud using them are required. Some of these methods include knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), data mining, machine learning and statistics. They offer applicable and successful solutions in different areas of electronic fraud crimes.

The Lebanese identity card is a compulsory Identity document issued to citizens of the Republic of Lebanon by the police on behalf of the Lebanese Ministry of Interior or in Lebanese embassies/consulates (abroad) free of charge. It is proof of identity, citizenship and residence of the Lebanese citizens.

<i>United States v. Clark</i> Court case

United States of America v. Clark is the name of a lawsuit against Jason Elliott Clark by the U.S. government based on identity theft, bank fraud and conspiracy. This was an appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Clark appealed his conviction for aggravated identity theft based on the sufficiency of the evidence and the court's admission of certain prior acts of evidence.

Hunter Fraud Score is a rating score launched locally in India by Experian Credit information company of India (ECICI), to detect fraud in credit applications to banks and insurance companies and help them lower their losses.

References

  1. ↑ Fischetti, Mark (March 2007). ""Scoring Your Identity: New Tactics Root Out The False Use Of Personal Data"". Scientific American. 296 (3): 28–29. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0307-28. PMID   17348153. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  2. ↑ "Digital technologies: The solution for breeder documents protection?". Arjo Solutions. 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
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