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Experts urge collaboration to fight fraud

Unified data sharing scheme could improve fraud detection

Phil Muncaster, IT Week 01 May 2008
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Experts at the Retail Fraud Show today have called for greater data sharing between merchants, vendors and to combat the threat of online fraud.

The ideal solution would be to create a hybrid system from the already existing data sharing networks operated by The Third Man and the Apacs backed FISS, said Paul Rodgers, chairman of payment industry organisation Vendorcom.

"We should be heading towards some sort of single view of this data," he added. "I'm not sure we should go for a single database but we should find a way of linking them together – all of these [schemes] have their own unique place and we should be bringing some of those unique factors to bear on this."

Rodgers urged all stakeholders to contact their trade associations to try and "make this happen", adding that the vendor and banking community should copy the fraudsters – by collaborating effectively together.

Paul Simms, managing director of The Third Man also backed data sharing among online retailers. In 2007, this tactic contributed to 20 per cent of detected fraud among the vendor's customers, he explained. So far in 2008 the figure has risen to 38 per cent.

But he warned that firms must supplement sharing data with other techniques for fraud prevention: most detected fraud has no previous history attached to it, he explained.

Mari-Ann Bayliss, fraud prevention manager at Home Retail Group, said her firm used shared data as a part of a multi-layered fraud detection strategy, including implementation of 3-D Secure and back office checks.

But some industries are simply opposed to the notion of data sharing, warned Elliot Castro, a reformed fraudster. Banks have historically been too slow to share data about fraudsters with each other and retailers – a lot less so than the insurance industry, he said.

"The banking industry is so tight-lipped about [fraud]," he added. "The problem with them is admitting they have a problem in the first place."

Meanwhile, some of the speakers claimed police responses to incidents of fraud are inadequate. Will Wynne, managing director of online florist Arena Flowers said his firm used to report fraud but gave up after police failed to act on those reports.

"In London they don't have time so we don't bother. Even £1,000 fraud case is not high priority; retailers foot the bill so it's our problem unfortunately," he said.

A delegate from Ocado explained that in his conversation s with the police, they wouldn't consider investigating fraud unless the amount taken was over £10,000.

Speaking at a 192.com Business Services keynote, Ex-fraudster Castro agreed that fraud is still not seen as a serious enough crime. "So many people don't see it as a proper crime. What is the deterrent? Sentencing for fraud is very light. And there'll always be more fraudsters than there are people trying to stop it."

See also:

Too much dispersed data makes its easier for fraudsters  01 May 2008
wire fenceNew report recommends firms appoint a senior manager in charge of data security  24 Apr 2008
Phil MuncasterAfter some false starts, has the security industry finally come up with an antifraud scheme that works?  14 Apr 2008
cardLosses fall by a third to just £22.6 million, according to the latest figures  12 Mar 2008
Credit cardLatest Apacs figures show drop in online banking fraud but big rise in card-not-present losses  05 Oct 2007
Changes in the law mean that firms will have to report fraud direct to their banks  30 Mar 2007
Chip and PIN readerIt will take more than providing e-shoppers with chip and PIN devices to stop online fraud  26 Feb 2007

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