Partnering with the SSA to Help Eliminate Synthetic and Modified Identity Fraud

Partnering with the SSA to Help Eliminate Synthetic and Modified Identity Fraud

Our identity. The one thing everyone wants full control over. We want it safe, secure and protected, and by no means is that easy. Sadly, with nearly 15 billion records lost or stolen since 2013*, we have to assume bits and pieces of our personally identifiable information (PII) are floating around the ominous “dark web” available to the highest bidder. By taking elements of real and completely fictitious PII, fraudsters could essentially stitch together a modified identity. This type of identity fraud is something financial institutions (FIs) are keenly aware of but, until lately, it has been difficult to detect and help prevent.

But fraudsters continue to evolve. Why make things more difficult? With recent changes to the randomization of the Social Security number (SSN), fraudsters realized there was an easier way to commit new account fraud. Why pay for a real Social Security number when you can just create one out of thin air? And it’s completely changed the landscape for identity verifiers.

Up to this point, SSN verifiers have not had the ability to verify SSN/full name and date-of-birth in real-time with a simple electronic consent from a consumer. Fraudsters understand this best and have continued to exploit this vulnerability – until now.

The SSA’s solution? Electronic Consent Based Social Security number Verification (eCBSV) service. This deterministic SSN verification service, will allow select service providers, such as Early Warning, to verify if a person’s SSN, name and date of birth matches the applicant, with the ultimate source of truth – The Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA summed it up best in their press release on this topic, stating that this solution will help to provide an easy and efficient SSN verification solution for banking and for bank customers. More importantly, it’s one of the first steps to help eradicate synthetic and modified identity fraud in the United States.

We are honored to have been selected as one of the exclusive participants in the SSA’s initial roll-out for eCBSV. In the coming months, we have the ability to onboard 20 organizations for full integration into the eCBSV service. We already received commitments from 15 large FIs to process their inquiries for deposit, credit card, lending and investment accounts. With those banks alone we will process over 100 million inquiries. We will have options that allow a verifier to use this as a stand-alone solution, or bundled with other Early Warning solutions to create a holistic approach to identity detection across all business lines - DDA, credit and other lending channels. Following the pilot period (expected to begin in June 2020), we will have the ability to expand this offering to help curb the synthetic and modified identity problem across the industry.

Our partnership with the SSA solidifies Early Warning’s on-going commitment to help secure and advance the financial services industry, which we’ve supported for almost three decades. We couldn’t be more excited to be at the forefront of this new technology and partnering with the SSA to help continue the fight against synthetic and modified identity fraud.

We only have a few spots remaining for participation in the pilot! To learn more or to talk to someone about participating in this pilot, click here to download a solution brief.

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