Aug 2015 | Fraud detection | Fraud Prevention
By Posted by Dominic Eaves

Savers are being urged to complete a quick ID check with their bank

This is to ensure they continue to enjoy the protection offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

It’s a simple and straightforward process that could help safeguard your life savings for years to come. Millions of savers are already protected by the FSCS, which guarantees up to £85,000 of deposits per person.

But in April this year, the Prudential Regulation Authority issued new policy guidance to banks on dormant accounts in an effort to help reduce the risk of fraud, ID theft and money laundering.

While detected savings fraud is not a huge growth area hovering around 24 per 10,000 applications currently deemed to be fraudulent, customers are urged to be vigilant and take pro-active steps to protect their nest eggs.

Despite many also enjoying the safeguards of compensation under the FSCS initiative, a deposit holder or any ‘beneficial account owner’ – as strictly defined by Regulation 6 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 – who have not had their identity verified by their bank since 2007, may soon not be eligible for compensation under the FSCS.

Getting ID’s validated is simple and straightforward – just call your bank to find out the best way to do it, because many institutions can now very quickly complete checks via online channels. It’s also a timely reminder encouraging savers to ensure their bank has up-to-date details, while institutions have an opportunity to carry out a fraud and AML review of all accounts. ID checking and verification is a fast and straightforward process. To find out more simply click here.

Experian works closely with National Hunter and Insurance Hunter. The fraud prevention systems are operated by Experian on behalf of members. They enable financial institutions to cross-match applications against more than 100 million previous application records in order to spot commonalities and anomalies that are potentially indicative of fraud for further investigation.