An extract from Perspective: The Fraud IssueEssential insights into the issues facing your industry today

EQUIFAX PAGE 2 of 2

Pushing all the right buttons

The telecommunications industry is fast becoming the foundation of our new interconnected and digitised planet. At the heart of this revolution is high-speed internet, which is driving rapid expansion in mobile infrastructure and the demand for networks, devices, services and applications.

It’s projected there will be eight billion mobile

connections by 2017. One billion of these will

be 4G connections – up from 176 million at

the end of 2013 – of which nine million will be

in the UK.

The demand for faster connectivity is driving

fundamental shifts in the market which are

transforming the telecoms sector.

This is making it more costly to acquire new

customers whilst the continued advances in

smartphone technology continue to attract

fraudsters after the latest high value handset.

Double troubleAgainst this background, CSPs are faced

with a dual challenge. They must deliver

the best service to help them attract and

retain the most profitable customers whilst

simultaneously having robust defences in

place to protect against the growing threat

of fraud.

This is perhaps most relevant at the point

the CSP acquires a new customer. In

order to maximise new connections, CSPs

are increasingly looking at how they can

improve the overall customer experience.

However, the introduction to the market of

more sophisticated – and more expensive –

smartphones has increased the risk of fraud

where the potential new customer has no

intention to pay. To help combat this, CSPs

need an ID verification and authentication

process that will improve fraud detection

whilst not impacting on the level of service it

offers the genuine customer.

Meeting the challengesWith a sophisticated suite of ID verification

and authentication solutions, Equifax is

ideally placed to help CSPs address this

challenge. Our range of passive and non-

passive solutions is being used by eight of

the top ten telecoms companies in the UK

to improve fraud detection rates whilst still

delivering a positive customer experience.

One telecom company reported that where

new customers were not taken through the

Equifax identity authentication process, its

fraud rate was three times higher. CSPs also

face the challenge of boarding customers

who may have limited details on their credit

file, for example, young people or those new

to the UK. Accordingly Equifax has developed

its Identity Verifier service to enable CSPs to

verify and authenticate these new potential

customers even though they may have little

information to check against.

Experience and insightEquifax understands the challenges our

clients are talking to us about: the need to

maximise sales and deliver shareholder value,

whilst mitigating fraud losses.

Our experience of and insight into the

Telecoms sector enables us to meet these

demands and challenges with intelligence

and expertise.

By working collaboratively with our clients,

we ensure we deliver solutions that directly

and positively impact the bottom line of

an organisation.

For more information about our work with our

Telco clients or on Equifax Identity Verifier,

please contact Keith at keith.mcgill@equifax.com or on 07736 782146.

** Source: CIFAS Poll: Organisations need to verify more details, 2012.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size: 2,095 adults. Fieldwork undertaken between 1st – 4th November 2013.

mobile connections by 2017 and of these one billion will be 4G connections

Nine million of these 4G connections will be in the UK.

8 billion

176million 2013 2017The proliferation of

channels and a fierce

competitive landscape

is resulting in decreased

brand loyalty for CSPs

(Communications Service

Providers).