UK-based credit reference agency Experian has launched a Web-based identity checking system designed to protect retailers against remote card fraud - payments made over the phone, WAP or Internet.
The new Web site will provide retailers with access to Experian's consumer identification tool, e-identitycheck, which verifies the true identity of consumers in real-time. E-identitycheck accesses Experian's consumer databases and public information sources to return an 'authentication score' so that retailers can have sufficient confidence that a consumer is genuine before proceeding with the sales order.
The service is currently in use in the travel and retail sectors where it is detecting up to 90 per cent of fraudulent remote card transactions, says Experian.
Richard Fiddis, Experian's chief operating officer, says: "Experian's e-identitycheck provides retailers with an effective and easy method of confirming the identity of the purchaser before accepting payment remotely over the phone or Internet."
According to Apacs (Association of Payment and Clearing Services), last year the problem of remote card fraud in the UK grew by 94%. When a retailer accepts payment for goods without a customer's signature, which is normal when buying goods over the phone or Internet with a card, the retailer is wholly liable if the purchase turns out to be fraudulent.