The UK government should start using network analytics to start rooting out the billions of pounds in potential fraud related to its coronavirus ‘Bounce Back’ loans, says Fico.
The government has handed out billions in emergency pandemic loans to British businesses over the last few months but the National Audit Office has warned that taxpayers could lose as much as £26 billion from fraud, organised crime or default.
With payments not due on loans for the first 12 months, Fico’s Matthew Cox says that any potential fraud is festering and it will be harder to recover money a year on.
Calling on government to act now, Cox says: “Don’t wait until the payments are due to start — using advanced link analysis, you can find all the connections between loans, like common phone numbers or company names or addresses.
“Get all the data together, use the analytics to find everyone who made more than one application, put all those into a bucket, then start contacting them. The money may be gone, but no one can abscond with it, they can’t even leave their house!”
Banks should consider using automated notifications, like SMS and App Push for account holders that have made an application, says Cox.
Fintech-Insight is dedicated to delivering unbiased and dependable insights into cryptocurrency, finance, trading, and stocks. However, we must clarify that we don't offer financial advice, and we strongly recommend users to perform their own research and due diligence.