192.com Launches Background Reports

New online service to protect people against deception and fraud

- 192.com launches the UK’s first Background Reports on individuals by collating millions of public records.

- Background Reports offer protection from deceitful dates, fake Facebookers, and cowboy traders.

- As fraud hits individuals for £9 billion1, a national survey finds 45% have been victims of a con.

- 192.com has launched the first ever online Background Reports service for UK consumers offering protection from deception and fraud.


Background Reports draw on vast amounts of data to create an in-depth profile of an individual within seconds. The reports detail residential histories and cohabitees, negative financial indicators, property ownership, company director information, and more.

192.com’s reports will enable anyone wishing to build trust in a person to quickly check them out; whether it be babysitters, employees, tradesmen, landlords, lodgers or new partners.

Dominic Blackburn, Head of Product at 192.com said: “Background Reports offer protection from falsehoods and fraud. They will counter the lies told in range of circumstances, from employing a tradesman to work on your home, to renting a room, or going on a date.”

Insolvency records and county court judgments in the Background Reports will reveal unpaid debts, and mortality data will help expose identities stolen from the deceased. Address information will show details of where someone lives, has lived previously, and who with.

The reports will counter the smoke and mirrors of the intertet2. Where online profiles are often fictional, Background Reports will help thwart online dishonesty and fraud, as evidenced by Facebook’s disclosure of up to 83 million faked accounts3 by the sharing of official, public data.

In a nationally representative poll of 2,000, people commissioned by 192.com, the online directory found:
50 per cent of people admitted to disguising an aspect of their personal profile.
45 per cent had been conned when dealing with other people, with 12 per cent being conned by a tradesman.
28 per cent admitted to fabricating details on their online profiles.
One in 10 will be untruthful to make money.
192.com’s Background Reports will also counter romance fraud. According to Action Fraud4, romance fraud grew by 33% in 2012 and a Leicester University study in 2011 found that up to 200,000 people in the UK had been victims of dodgy dates. Among those surveyed by the University, one in 50 knew a victim.5

Dominic Blackburn says: “192.com Background Reports make people think twice before lying about themselves, either in a transactional or personal situation, and encourage a safer online environment. As a company with a history of reuniting people, this new service is about reassuring them.”

192.com Background Reports will be available for purchase through 192.com’s website.

-Ends-

Press Contact:
Thea Hickman
T: 07872464469 
E: t.hickman@thecommsco.com

Sources
National Fraud Authority’s June 2013 Fraud Indicator Report: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206552/nfa-annual-fraud-indicator-2013.pdf
The survey was conducted by One Poll. The nationally representative sample was of 2000 adults, with responses broken up by age, gender and location. The poll was conducted online on the 19th of April 2013.
Facebook profiles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/02/facebook-83m-profiles-bogus-fake
Action Fraud stats disclosed to 192.com: There were 987 reported cases of dating or romance fraud in 2012, 248 more than the previous year.
Fraud in 2011 according to the University of Leicester
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15093293
About 192.com
192.com is the UK's most awarded online directory, helping find people, businesses and places for 11 million users a month. On 192.com, users can search over 700 million records including free directory enquiries, edited electoral roll information, local business listings, interactive mapping, aerial photography and property reports.