TMCnet News
Research & Markets Adds "Antidote to Fraud" to ReportBy DAVID R. BUTCHER, Assistant Editor, Customer Interaction Solutions Of late, critical-eye attention has been microscopically focused on new Internet-based fraud attempts and the significant potential risks such as in the media cases surrounding database hacks and fraudulent activity in contact centers. The number of people who use online banking to check the status of their accounts and pay their bills without paper-and-stamps correspondence has grown at profound rates; as well, many use PayPal and similar processes to simplify online purchases. Any and all of these actions are susceptible to identity theft; and at the growth speed of people taking advantage of such online account management, so rapidly does identity fraud linked to the Internet take place. Or is this simply unjust, jaded perception? Research and Markets today announced the addition of "Online Account Management as the Antidote to Fraud: Financial Institutions and Billers Must Revamp Their Web Features and Messages" to its recent research offering. The Dublin, Ireland-based company's new research, it claims, shows that many people "operate under the false notion that online banking and bill payment online increases their risk of becoming an identity theft victim." Research and Markets notes that its report gives evidence to the contrary. According to the announcement of the report addition: "Online financial firms and billers must counteract popular misconceptions, building the public's confidence in the superior identity protection that online bill paying and banking currently can offer over paper and mail-based systems." Only then will consumer and small-business customer fears ease, "leading to greater use and safety." While most people understandably believe that these online account management methods increase fraud risk, the company's October 2003 report provided information that provokes assumption of the opposite conclusion. The report claimed the following: increased use of Internet account management leads to a 10.4 percent reduction of fraud risk, primarily through fraud prevention via reduction of paper records and improved fraud detection through enhanced account monitoring abilities. The challenge to banks and billers, then, is to show people that usage of traditional paper and mail systems and avoidance of online account management will not prevent criminals from obtaining and using their personal information online, according to Research and Markets. Because people operate under the assumption false or not that increased use of online account management places them at greater risk of identity fraud, adoption and use of online banking, bill payment and statement viewing is curbed, the firm proposes. And yet, more and more people seem to be more comfortable or at least convenienced by such methods, saving time, effort and effectiveness. Essentially, the research firm claims that clinging to traditional methods (i.e., paper-and-stamps systems over online account management) actually can heighten chances of being victimized by identity-fraud criminals. This latest added-to report covers the following key topics: I.D. theft/fraud prevention and detection; E-mail phishing and spoofing; Consumer attitudes and behavior; Web site and systems design direction; Marketing communications strategy; and Online banking, financial management and bill payment. The report, "Online Account Management As the Antidote To Fraud: Financial Institutions and Billers Must Revamp Their Web Features and Messages", can be found and purchased at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c21234. Key finding of the research firm's 2005 Identity Fraud Survey Report can be found at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=297455&cat_id=7 ----- David R. Butcher is Assistant Editor of Customer Interaction Solutions. To see more articles by David R. Butcher, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100008&nm=David%20 R.%20Butcher |