ClearScore, a UK credit checking service, announced on Thursday it has launched ClearScore Protect, a free anti-fraud dark web monitoring service. Along with the service, ClearScore released nationally representative research that reveals a third of adults in the UK have been victims of online fraud.
The research showed of those UK consumers affected by fraud, the majority (58%) experienced a 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, more than half (55%) of UK consumers are more worried about online fraud than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
ClearScore noted that ClearScore Protect is a service that monitors the dark web for any stolen passwords, alerting users to any potential breaches every three months. The company explained:
“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.”
Explaining the service even further, CEO and Co-founder of ClearScore, Justin Basini, stated:
“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.”
ClearScore is also offering Protect Realtime, which is 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.