FraudNews
06-14-2013, 10:18 PM
Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest users shape many details of their personal life. Today, payment companies – PayPal, WePay, eBay and more – along with credit bureaus are looking to see if social posts will be able to prove if customers are defrauding them by lying about their household finances.
Rajib Roy, Equifax Identity and Fraud Solutions’ president, said the company is investing a lot in the various ways they can use the free information that’s on social media sites to assist them to understanding more about identity.
According to CyberSource, a payment processor, U.S. online retailers absorbed $3.5 billion in fraud last year.
Companies can only get access to people’s public information or what they decide to share. However, many of this information is already available. Millions of young people allow the viewing public to see parts of their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. Consumers leave information of who they are on online forums, blog posts and Yelp.
Public information includes but are not limited to:
- Local check-ins
- Photo tags
- Network of friends
Both LinkedIn and Facebook have software tools that permit companies to automatically import data from profiles – with the permission of users. Consumers are permitting this so they can easily sign into the website.
Intuit, which is a provider of payment systems and big seller of personal-finance software, said it was helping LinkedIn to verify users’ identities who have detailed profiles – employment history, endorsements, recommendations, etc.
Intuit’s Strategic Risk Services Vice President Ken Miller said there is certainly meat on the bone to get information.
Equifax, in conjunction with state and federal government agencies, are trying to find out if those getting benefits are actually eligible for them. The bureau must authenticate a person’s identity, location, criminal record, income level, which is something checking the social media can help them with.
There’s not much one can do to stop people from producing fake social media profiles. After all, on Fiverr, which is a marketplace where people can sell their services for $5, a user can offer a service to add 100 friends to any Facebook account in one day. Of course, there are startup companies – Trulioo, for example – that are assisting companies in identifying fraudulent information.
Stephen Ufford, the founder and Chief Executive Officer at Trulioo, said the average social network user will be tagged over 70 times in one year by friends.
Bill Ready, Braintree Payment Solution’s CEO, said looking through the Internet for personal data will increase people’s concerns that social media websites are not doing enough to keep their information private and secure. He said if banks begin using the information for lending and extending credit, it’s definitely an issue of concern for privacy.
Rajib Roy, Equifax Identity and Fraud Solutions’ president, said the company is investing a lot in the various ways they can use the free information that’s on social media sites to assist them to understanding more about identity.
According to CyberSource, a payment processor, U.S. online retailers absorbed $3.5 billion in fraud last year.
Companies can only get access to people’s public information or what they decide to share. However, many of this information is already available. Millions of young people allow the viewing public to see parts of their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. Consumers leave information of who they are on online forums, blog posts and Yelp.
Public information includes but are not limited to:
- Local check-ins
- Photo tags
- Network of friends
Both LinkedIn and Facebook have software tools that permit companies to automatically import data from profiles – with the permission of users. Consumers are permitting this so they can easily sign into the website.
Intuit, which is a provider of payment systems and big seller of personal-finance software, said it was helping LinkedIn to verify users’ identities who have detailed profiles – employment history, endorsements, recommendations, etc.
Intuit’s Strategic Risk Services Vice President Ken Miller said there is certainly meat on the bone to get information.
Equifax, in conjunction with state and federal government agencies, are trying to find out if those getting benefits are actually eligible for them. The bureau must authenticate a person’s identity, location, criminal record, income level, which is something checking the social media can help them with.
There’s not much one can do to stop people from producing fake social media profiles. After all, on Fiverr, which is a marketplace where people can sell their services for $5, a user can offer a service to add 100 friends to any Facebook account in one day. Of course, there are startup companies – Trulioo, for example – that are assisting companies in identifying fraudulent information.
Stephen Ufford, the founder and Chief Executive Officer at Trulioo, said the average social network user will be tagged over 70 times in one year by friends.
Bill Ready, Braintree Payment Solution’s CEO, said looking through the Internet for personal data will increase people’s concerns that social media websites are not doing enough to keep their information private and secure. He said if banks begin using the information for lending and extending credit, it’s definitely an issue of concern for privacy.