The UK's biggest national investigation into identity fraud has kicked off in partnership with five of the six largest British banks and three of the four largest mobile operators. Five of the seven largest credit card issuers and two of the largest online and offline retail consumer finance companies in the country will also contribute to the study.
The UK National Study on Identity Fraud project is the largest investigation of its kind ever conducted in Britain, said risk management firm ID Analytics, which will lead and conduct the research.
The broad UK-wide collaborative effort aims to provide an in-depth understanding of identity fraud across all areas of UK commence.
"Detecting and preventing identity fraud and managing identity risk is a top priority for O2 UK," said Alistair Urquhart, manager - fraud for O2.
"We expect our participation in the UK National Study on Identity Fraud will help our industry gain an even deeper understanding of this growing issue."
"We believe our company is at the forefront of the fight against identity fraud," added George Lennox, manager, group credit and risk at HSBC Holdings. "That's why it was important to us to join with other companies both within and outside of our industry to help give businesses even more tools for combating fraudsters."
A team from ID Analytics comprising analytic scientists, software and security resources is beginning to analyse identity elements which the participants have already added to its specially engineered UK ID Network. In its research, the team aims to identify patterns, practices and activities indicative of identity fraud.
Based on its findings, the team will build new systems for fraud prevention that will be customised to the needs of the UK market.
"We've been reporting for some time on the size, scope and nature of the identity fraud problem," said Katy Worobec, head of risk management at the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS).
"We look forward to the results of ID Analytics' data study, which we anticipate will provide further insight into the types and dynamics of identity fraud and fraudster methods."
"At Capital One we're very focused on winning the battle against identity fraud," said Rob Barrett, senior fraud analyst for Capital One. "We strongly believe that an important next step in this fight is the collaboration across multiple companies and industries, so participating in this effort is important to us."
