What Exactly is Synthetic ID Theft and Fraud?

[Carsten]

I don't think credit bureaus even have something like that.

Last I knew they only monitored for irregularities in your credit and if you tied them to your bank accounts; those too.
They call it Identity Protection. Hmm, only if they can catch it in time. Otherwise you are screwed.
Those data breaches are a gold mine for the the bureau that gets the contract. They will offer this "Identity Protection" at a sweet price and then they hope you as the user will continue using their services and try to sign you up to credit cards that probably hurt your score.

These algorithms are guard like the formula for google SEO or Coke. Not many people in the company actually know.

Just pray you never get so compromise that you are calling day and night to those bureaus! I don't even think the government can issue you a new number.

Funny thing is that a lot of people who work at those 3 companies don't share their cool ideas with their employers on purpose.

So, how can you prevent fraud?
biometrics (finger print or retina scan).
I don't think even the bureaus are ready to open that Pandora's Box.
Or it's just capitalism because then they will have have to manage PII and ward against identity theft for real and offer it at such a low cost that it doesn't make business sense.

So, how would your prevent fraud?

 

[BrianEpro]

Just to course correct on this thread, Equifax has a synthetic ID solution that monitors transactions in real time to prevent synthetic ID fraud. It's a huge and growing problem, particularly in Auto, and it requires the ability to monitor multiple streams of data such as identity, velocity and behavior in real time. Our partners have been using it for years.

It's actually pretty fascinating how it works and it's a great example of deploying real-world AI to solve a business problem.

 

[Ryan Everson]

I don't think credit bureaus even have something like that.

They do and have for a while

 

[Carsten]

Thanks! I am behind the times.