Transactis Sets Up Coalition to Prevent Retail Fraud

Consumer insight and anti-fraud specialist Transactis has set up a 'fraud and loss prevention coalition' known as TRADE, through which retailers can share their transactional and consumer insight data in a bid to spot potential fraudsters.

Liverpool-based Transactis combines data from multiple sources to help clients understand individual consumer behaviour, while identifying risks and opportunities. Through retail members QVC and Shop Direct - whose divisions include Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com - the TRADE initiative (Transactis Risk Assessment Data Exchange) currently draws on customer information from nine million UK households. Matching techniques are then applied to this data, to enable retailers to detect fraudsters using multiple identities.

The team says that by sharing behavioural data relating to first party fraud, third party fraud and all other types of loss, TRADE not only better equips retailers to identify, investigate and challenge potential fraudsters, but also makes it quicker and easier for them to authenticate genuine customers making legitimate claims for missing deliveries, lost returns and other order problems.

Martin Spencer, Finance Manager of QVC UK, comments: 'Companies in the retail industry have not really worked together before to deliver a collective anti-fraud service that covers both card and credit transactions, so TRADE is providing a real opportunity for a level of information-sharing that has not previously been possible. This will not only ensure quicker and more effective fraud screening, but it will mean that we and other TRADE members can do a better job of making sure genuine customers get the best possible service.'

Web site: www.transactis.co.uk .