Equifax And Oplogic Team Up To Counter Synthetic ID Fraud

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) yesterday announced that it has joined forces with Oplogic, a provider of CRM solutions for automotive dealerships, to reduce synthetic ID fraud. This type of fraud involves creation of a new identity by combining real (usually stolen) and fake information.

Helping Auto Dealers Detect Fraud

Dealerships can scan a potential buyer’s driving license using Oplogic CRM software. During the scan, license verification occurs against Equifax data and fraud tools.

Ken Allen, SVP of Identity and Fraud at Equifax, stated that with the increase in complexity of fraudulent activities over the years, the company’s data analytics platforms have also become sophisticated. According to Allen, Equifax is making great strides in countering synthetic ID fraud by partnering with the likes of Oplogic.

Attempt to Boost USIS Revenues

We believe that the latest move will help Equifax generate more revenues from identity and fraud solutions. These solutions are included in the company’s Online Information Solutions, which forms a part of its USIS segment.

In the first quarter of 2018, Online Information Solutions’ revenue of $219.7 million declined 2% year over year. Total USIS revenues of $306.9 million were down 1% year over year.

Equifax, Inc. Revenue (TTM)

Share Price Movement

We observe that shares of Equifax have declined 10.2% in the past year against the industry's rally of 40.8%. The cyber-attack at Equifax, wherein criminals stole highly sensitive personal data of approximately 143 million consumers, has severely tarnished the brand image, reputation and credibility of the company.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Equifax has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services sector include The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE:DNB) , FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT) and WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) . While Dun & Bradstreet and WEX sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), FLEETCOR carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The long-term expected earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate for Dun & Bradstreet, FLEETCOR Technologies and WEX is 4.5%, 16.5% and 14.3%, respectively.

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