The Daily Mail newspaper cites Equifax saying that the move to offer individuals their personal credit documents for free is intended to help those most in debt confront the reality of the problem. However the free service will only be available to consumers contacting Equifax via a recognized debt charity or their Citizens’ Advice bureau.
People in serious debt often have difficulty in understanding the full extent of the agreements to which they are committed. We believe providing free access to credit files, via the debt advice organizations, is a crucial step in their grasping of the problems they must tackle, Neil Munroe of Equifax is quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Equifax has announced that it is ramping up the battle against identity fraudsters. The company says that the continued growth in credit application and identity fraud reinforces the urgent need for the lending industry to step up its defenses against this crime by sharing data on previous applications and frauds.
Equifax is therefore to create an industry-wide database of previous application frauds and developing an online fraud prevention solution that will be accessible as an integral part of the credit application process.
We all recognize that data share is vital in the fight against fraud, but we must ensure that we are capable of maximizing the benefits that data share can deliver,” says Neil Lewis, head of fraud at Equifax.
Because fraudsters are known to target their activity right across the industry, Equifax’s aim is to ensure that the information sharing encompasses every sector affected by application fraud. This includes banks, retail credit providers, credit card issuers, mobile telecommunications, mail order and internet shopping, Mr Lewis added.
