Shares of the financial technology company Mogo Finance Technology Inc. (TSX:MOGO) were up 14.04% in early afternoon trading on November 28. On the same day the company announced that it had launched MogoProtect, a digital solution designed to help consumers protect against identity theft.
The launch comes in the wake of the recently-revealed Uber hack; an event that occurred in 2016 and the company attempted to conceal. The data breach exposed the information of more than 57 million Uber users as well as over 600,000 drivers.
More consequential was the massive data breach that crippled Equifax Inc. The breach led to the personal information of over 140 million people in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada potentially being exposed to cyber criminals. Equifax has since spent almost $100 million to recover from the breach and has restructured its security personnel.
MogoProtect will monitor the Equifax credit bureau for consumers and will notify users whenever a company makes an inquiry. If the application detects a suspicious inquiry it will guide users through the steps to prevent fraud.
It is a fine addition to the MogoAccount, which also offers credit solutions like mortgages and personal loans to potential customers. Fintech is a fast-growing sector which threatens larger institutions due to its low-cost alternatives for consumers.
Mogo Finance Technology stock has climbed over 300% in 2017. This offering is timely as consumers look for ways to protect themselves as cybercrime is becoming more prevalent.
