Sagacity's Solutions for Fraud Prevention - at the IFPC 2019

On the 17th May Sagacity attended the first International Fraud Prevention Conference at the RDS Concert Hall in Dublin. The conference itself was held in the stunning Baroque Library Room with an adjoining room where attendees and speakers had the opportunity to peruse different stands to understand more about the different tools that could be used in the fight against fraud, as well as provide a networking opportunity for like-minded individuals. On the Sagacity stand, Katriona and Paul were on hand to share information about our suite of data quality products and how our tools can help.

The conference was opened by Minister Charlie Flanagan, highlighting the financial impact of fraud (globally it costs €3.8 trillion a year) and imploring all to collaborate across industries and take action to prevent and combat it together. This was followed by a series of talks from expert speakers across a wide range of professional backgrounds including the Chief of Detectives from the NYPD. Sagacity's CFO Harry Dougall took to the stage to share insights into how 'good customer data quality is the bedrock for effective customer management'. He spoke about the importance of good data and how knowing your customer can enable a better understanding of their behaviours. His examples showed how data quality challenges for some organisations have led to value erosion and how fraud can be avoided through good data quality.

Fraud is defined as false representation, failing to disclose information or by abuse of position. Receiving a discount that you are not entitled to or meter usage incorrectly showing zero consumption are just two examples of potentially fraudulent activity and it is clear that with accurate customer data; the correct actions and outcomes are far simpler to identify and fix.

The day was very insightful with a wide range of speakers sharing their personal and professional experiences. The key message, constantly reiterated by each person who spoke, was 'active prevention is the best course of action for tackling the ever-growing threat of fraud'.