With 33% of UK residents having been victims of online fraud and more predicted as Covid-19 scams rise, ClearScore Protect is a new free service aimed at tackling online fraud and it is useful even if you have password manager.
The offering from ClearScore, a credit score and credit marketplace, is an anti-fraud dark web monitoring system, which has just been unveiled in response to new figures revealing that a third of adults in the UK have been victims of online fraud.
Of those UK consumers affected by fraud, the majority (58%) experience loss of financial data. Along with this, those who fall victim to online fraud most commonly lose between £101 and £500, with 8% of those surveyed losing over £1,001. On top of this, over half (55%) of UK consumers are more worried about online fraud than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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All of this, says ClearScore, showcases the importance of having thorough security measures in place for any personal online activity, including the ability to act quickly if any data is compromised to prevent financial loss.
ClearScore Protect monitors the dark web for any stolen passwords, alerting users to any potential breaches every three months.
Once users have been alerted to any stolen information, they will be shown a page containing all of their breached passwords, with simple and easy instructions on how to change them. In performing these actions, the user will prevent cybercriminals from taking advantage of their data for financial gain.
ClearScore also offers Protect Realtime - a subscription version of the service which monitors up to three separate email addresses on a daily basis for £2.99 a month. Subscribers are able to see any compromised information - not just passwords - and also receive tailored advice and dedicated fraud support if they fall victim to online fraud.
Of the 305,000 users who have already activated ClearScore Protect, the average person sees 7 passwords from online accounts leaked on the dark web.
In order to safely monitor the dark web, ClearScore has partnered with a team of cybersecurity experts who monitor thousands of criminal forums, websites and chat rooms to search for stolen data, saving it into a private and secure database. ClearScore searches this secure dark web database for any stolen data associated with the email address registered on a user’s ClearScore account and alerts them if anything is found.
CEO and Co-founder of ClearScore, Justin Basini says, “Monitoring your credit score and report has always been a great way to protect your identity and we made this free for millions of people when we launched ClearScore back in 2015. However with an increase in online fraud, we wanted to ensure that consumers were protected and so we set about creating ClearScore Protect 18 months ago.
Having fallen victim to identity theft myself, I understand how it can impact a person’s financial and mental wellbeing and right now everything is exacerbated by the anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We are extremely proud to now be offering dark web monitoring for free, forever, and hope that it will help consumers steer clear from becoming victims of online fraud.”
Troy Hunt, founder of HaveIBeenPwned.com, says, “I receive multiple emails every day from people who’ve been a victim of digital attacks and cybercrime. There’s a huge amount of misunderstanding around online safety and fraud prevention which, in turn, results in both emotional and financial strain for victims and their families.
ClearScore Protect Realtime provides consumers with tailored support from a real human at the time they need it the most. The launch of Protect gives consumers a great resource to help prevent and minimise the impact of online fraud.”
