Data driven technology company Connected Data is pleased to announce a partnership with Synectics Solutions that will play a key role in helping to detect and prevent fraud in relation to void properties and social tariffs in the utility sector.
Synectics Solutions is a counter-fraud market leader that delivers unrivalled solutions across risk intelligence, decisioning, predictive analytics, ID verification, digital forensics and more. Having won multiple awards over the years for its innovative solutions, the company is trusted by tier one banks, leading insurers, fintechs and the Cabinet Office.
The focus of the partnership is to help utility companies better detect and prevent fraud, particularly where void properties are misrepresented and unentitled social tariffs are identified – two challenges that cost utility companies millions each year.
The partnership will allow Connected Data access to the Public Sector Fraud Authority’s National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data service. Part of the Cabinet Office, the NFI data service has been made available for utility providers through the partnership.
The NFI is a data matching service aimed at preventing and detecting fraud and error across public and private sector organisations, including local authorities and government departments. The NFI works with over 1,100 participating organisations and has helped save over £2.4bn since its inception in 1996.
Connected Data will now be able to combine this new intelligence with residency and occupier data services they already access from several other market leading data providers including CRA and non-CRA data partners.
The new data sets will provide key intelligence into Connected Data’s Connected Residency service – a service used by utility companies to identify and re-engage customers who may have been fraudulently using their utility services. For example, by failing to inform them of their period of occupancy and avoiding payment. Appropriate recovery plans can be put in place as a result.
By matching to these multiple data sets, the likelihood of identifying anomalies in occupancy will be even greater, enabling further investigation to determine if they are fraudulent or not.
Anthony Sumner, Director of Data and Analytics at Connected Data, said: “Synectics Solutions has made some real footprints, championing the use of syndicated data across private and public sectors. In the utility sector, we believe this additional data will play a key role in helping our utility clients significantly reduce levels of fraud and the associated revenue loss by enabling the implementation of appropriate recovery strategies.
“We are delighted that such an industry leader has chosen to partner with us. Thanks to their unique access to NFI, coupled with our own unique capability, we envisage a positive impact on the market. The addition of the powerful NFI datasets will enable significantly more data connections, filling in vital customer data gaps and enabling even more highly actionable insight.”
Louise Williams, Product Manager Public Sector at Synectics Solutions, said “By using this holistic combination of datasets, we are able to provide that added layer of intelligence to detect fraud exposing utilities companies to millions of lost revenue opportunities.”
