Experian survey finds growth in online fraud

Experian's Global Fraud and Identity Report, published Jan. 24, 2018, found online fraud a growing concern for businesses worldwide. In an effort to provide linkages to customer recognition, convenience, trust and fraud risk, researchers interviewed 5,500 consumers and 500 business leaders between June and October 2017. Respondents included senior executives from financial institutions, payment providers, and online and mobile retailers in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Singapore, China, India, Australia, France, Spain, Turkey and South Africa.

The survey found consumers expect security and a frictionless checkout experience, noted Kathleen Peters, Senior Vice President of Global Fraud and Identity at Experian. Peters said businesses are migrating to advanced forms of authentication to improve security and customer experience. “Whether it's in our favorite coffee shop or shopping online, being recognized by the people we do business with goes a long way," she said. "Recognition helps to stimulate trust, and trust is what makes all of us feel safe and protected. Trust is the currency of digital commerce. Technology is the enabler that underpins it."

Peters said the ability to recognize and authenticate customers is a major deterrent to fraudsters, who are constantly evolving and becoming more resourceful. The best way to combat these criminal elements is to employ multiple strategies, including better customer recognition, she suggested. “Simply put, the better you recognize your customer, the better you can recognize fraud," she said.

Key report findings

Peters also noted varying approaches to friction at checkout in different regions. Consumers in India and South Africa,, for example, are generally tolerant of security protocols, including schemes that require them to validate their identities, because it makes them feel protected; consumers in Turkey are less tolerant of such measures.

Additional key findings include the following:

• 84 percent of businesses surveyed believe they could reduce fraud risk if they were certain about their customers' identities.

• 72 percent of businesses cite fraud as a growing concern.

• One in four consumers have abandoned transactions because too much data was required to set up a new account.

• 35 percent of consumers would increase online transactions if they encountered fewer security hurdles.

• 52 percent of businesses are still using passwords for fraud detection and protection.

• 35 percent of consumers would transact more online if there were fewer security hurdles.

Advanced authentication needed

Lisa Baergen, Marketing Director at NuData Security Inc., a Mastercard company, said the inability to accurately identify customers inhibits organizations from limiting fraudulent activities. “In this age of data breaches, password reuse and password guessing technology, a simple username and password method of authentication is simply not enough – the flurry of constant data breaches is evidence of this,” she stated.

Baergen advocates the use of two-factor authentication and biometric schemes that use passive biological factors to verify identities. These factors are impossible to mimic and could help bridge the identification gap while putting 84 percent of fraudsters out of business, she said.

“Behavioral and passive biometrics, in a layered approach, help to identify the identity of the real consumer without applying additional friction or inconveniencing the transaction,” Baergan said. “Simply analyzing how a consumer holds or enters keystrokes on their device, or hundreds of other behavioral data points, can verify that there is a human behind the transaction and that it is the right human. At the end of the day, trusting the online environment is what matters.”

A copy of the fraud and identity report is available at www.experian.com/globalfraudreport2018 .

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