Payment solutions provider Eiger Systems has launched a new service designed to help firms that accept Direct Debit payments to spot fraudulent activity.

Criminals are able to expose weaknesses in the current Direct Debit scheme by either posing as legitimate customers or by supplying false account information that is able to pass existing checks, according to Eiger's director of product strategy, Jonathan Williams.

Bank Wizard Absolute combines information from Eiger's parent company Experian with its own Bank Wizard software to help businesses check in real time if an account exists and, if so, whether it belongs to a particular customer and associated address.

"This solution ties three pieces of information together: the customer ID, their address and bank account details," Williams explained. "What the poor IT manager is charged with is removing as much risk as possible, but they've not been able to do this level of verification before."

The service is available from today to customers on a per-usage licensing model.

In related news, an overwhelming majority of the UK's top online retailers have called on the government to crack down on internet fraudsters, according to new research released last week.

Anti-fraud solutions provider 3V surveyed the user base of industry body the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) and found that over 60 percent of respondents think tougher penalties would be the most effective way of tackling online fraud and safeguarding e-commerce.

A similar number said they had witnessed an increase in fraud levels online over the past year, while a third of firms said they thought this trend would lead to customers limiting their spending to the more established retailers' sites, potentially restricting sector growth.

Chief executive of 3V, Kieron Guilfoyle, argued that the solution requires involvement from both commercial entities' fraud prevention solutions and government.

"It will take the contribution of a number of players to make customers feel comfortable involving a public-private partnership," he added. "The calls from retailers show they want to increase customer confidence but there is currently no government kitemark showing that a site is safe and independently audited."