TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced the launch of its Fraud Prevention Exchange, an industry collaborative designed to combat online fraud at the Lend360 conference. The Fraud Prevention Exchange will leverage the power of collective data and help lenders face challenges brought on by originations fraud, including synthetic identity and loan stacking.
TransUnion sees the Exchange is timely: originations fraud has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars lost yearly due to undetected fraudulent activity, according to the platform; in addition, loan stacking has materialized as an emerging issue across the industry. TransUnion data shows that, on average, 4.5% of borrowers take out more than one personal loan on the same day. While only some forms of loan stacking are fraudulent, the practice can be costly when inauthentic borrowers apply for multiple loans from multiple lenders within a short timeframe.
“Lenders today are spending precious resources and experiencing significant losses attributable to fraudulent customer behavior,” observed TransUnion SVP Pat Phelan. “The TransUnion Fraud Prevention Exchange is an innovative approach to build on the power of our existing identity solutions with the establishment of a private collaboration between a group of lenders sharing data for common interests in reducing losses.”
How it works: Fraud Prevention Exchange members opt in to share transaction data during the verification process for new and existing customers and the outcomes of those verifications. TransUnion analyzes this member input, watching for potentially fraudulent transaction activity and reported fraud across the network. Applications are evaluated as they are initiated and as they are completed — when it is clear a consumer has true intent to accept an offer made. They are reviewed one final time before cash disbursement is made. Contributing members are notified within seconds if their transaction data is suspect.
“As a collaborative solution, the Fraud Prevention Exchange provides a unique multi-faceted approach that can potentially help us both avoid and identify fraudsters, positively impacting both the company and our customers,” averred AvantCredit CCO and Co-Founder John Sun.