Tag: account security

Experian’s latest Global Insights Report found that more than half of consumers have increased their online spending in the last three months, and 50% say it will increase in the next three months. Life online is here to stay, and consumer expectations have shifted, giving businesses and opportunity to sink or swim when building trust and gaining loyalty. This spring, Experian surveyed 6,000 consumers and 2,000 businesses across all industries to learn more about how, why, and where consumers are interacting with businesses online. Our research found that: Experience is top of mind, with 81% of consumers saying that a positive online experience makes them think more highly of a brand Digital payment options are on the rise with 62% of consumers using mobile wallets and 57% considering buy now, pay later as a replacement for their credit card Security is still a big factor, but 73% of consumers say the onus is on businesses to protect them online Download the report to get all the latest insights into consumer sentiment and how recent changes are impacting business priorities and investments. Download the report

Experian’s newest Global Insights Report found that consumers are online 25% more today than they were just a year ago, highlighting the importance of the digital customer experience. To acquire customers and retain their loyalty, businesses need to focus on improving the online experience, preventing fraud, and managing credit risk.   This September, Experian surveyed 3,000 consumers and 900 businesses across all industries to explore business priorities and recent changes in consumer activities.   Many businesses and consumers are reportedly feeling more economically stable now than they were a year ago. As consumers resume spending the digital customer experience becomes even more paramount – requiring businesses to invest in scalable software solutions that will accurately assess credit risk and meet ever-changing needs and priorities.   Our research found that:   42% of consumers have increased concern for the safety of banking and shopping transactions Business adoption of advanced analytics has increased over last year, and adoption of artificial intelligence is up from 69% to 74% Consumers are more likely to share their personal data if it improves their experience, with 56% willing to share their contact information The top three consumer priorities continue to be security, privacy and convenience   Download the report to get all the latest insights into consumer desires and business behaviors as we move further through the digital evolution. Download the report

The surge in digital demand over the past year reinforced the deep connection between recognition, fraud prevention and the online customer experience. As businesses transformed their operations to accommodate the rapidly growing volume of digital transactions, consumer expectations for easy, secure interactions increased at an even faster pace. That meant less tolerance for the interruptions caused by security and risk controls. We surveyed more than 9,000 consumers and 2,700 businesses worldwide about this connection for our 2021 Global Identity and Fraud Report. This year’s report dives into: Business priorities for the year ahead Why the digital customer experience remains siloed Consumer preferences that impact the digital customer journey Pandemic-era digital activities that have changed consumer expectations As we move forward into the rest of 2021 it’s crucial that businesses continue to focus on fraud prevention. In order to implement an effective fraud strategy that also makes it easier for customers to engage, businesses need to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and focus on applying the right level of protection to each and every transaction. Download the report Review your fraud strategy

Preventing account takeover (ATO) fraud is paramount in today’s increasingly digital world. In this two-part series, we’ll explore the benefits and considerations of a Defense in Depth strategy for stopping ATO. The challenges with preventing account takeover Historically, managing fraud and identity risk in online banking has been a trade-off between customer experience and the effectiveness of fraud controls. The basic control structure relies on a lock on the front door of online banking front door—login—as the primary authentication control to defend against ATO. Within this structure, there are two choices. The first is tightening the lock, which equals a higher rate of step-up authentication challenges and lower fraud losses. The second is loosening the lock, which results in a lower challenge rate and higher fraud loses. Businesses can layer in more controls to reduce the false positives, but that only allows marginal efficiency increases and usually represents a significant expense in both time and budget to add in new controls. Now is the perfect time for businesses reassess their online banking authentication strategy for a multitude of reasons: ATO is on the rise: According to Javelin Strategy & Research, ATO increased 72% in 2019.1 Users’ identities and credentials are at more risk than ever before: Spear phishing and data breaches are now a fact of life leading to reduced effectiveness of traditional authentication controls. Online banking enrollments are on the rise: According to BioCatch, in the months following initial shelter-in-place orders across the country, banks have seen a massive spike in first time online banking access. Users expect security in online banking: Half of consumers continue to cite security as the most important factor in their online experience. Businesses who reassess the control structure for their online banking will increase the effectiveness of their tools and reduce the number of customers challenged at the same time – giving them Defense in Depth. What is Defense in Depth? Defense in Depth refers to a strategy in which a series of defense mechanisms are layered in order to protect data and information. The basic assumptions underlying the value of a Defense in Depth strategy are: Different types of transactions within online banking have different levels of inherent risk (e.g., external money movement is considerably higher risk compared to viewing recent credit card transactions) At login, the overall transaction risk associated with the session risk is unknown The risk associated with online banking is concentrated in relatively small populations – the vast majority of digital transactions are low risk This is the Pareto principle at play – i.e., about 80% of online banking risk is concentrated within about 20% of sessions. Experian research shows that risk is even more concentrated – closer to >90% of the risk is concentrated in <10% of transactions. This is relatively intuitive, as the most common activities within online banking consist of users checking their balance or reviewing recent transactions. It is much less common for customers to engage in higher risk transaction. The challenge is that businesses cannot know the session risk at the time of challenge, thus their efficiency is destined to be sub-optimal. The benefits of Defense in Depth A Defense in Depth strategy can really change the economics of an online banking security program. Adopting a strategy that continuously assesses the overall session risk as a user navigates through their session allows more efficient risk decisions at moments that matter most to the user. With that increased efficiency, businesses are better set up to prevent fraud without frustrating legitimate users. Defense in Depth allows businesses to intelligently layer security protocols to protect against vulnerability – helping to prevent theft and reputational losses and minimize end-user frustration. In addition to these benefits, a continuous risk-based approach can have lower overall operational costs than a traditional security approach. The second part of this series will explore the cost considerations associated with the Defense in Depth strategy explored above. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to discuss options. Contact us 1Identity Fraud in the Digital Age, Javelin Strategy & Research, September 2020

Pre COVID-19, operations functions for retailers and financial institutions had not typically consisted of a remote (stay at home) workforce. Some organizations were better prepared than others, but there is a firm belief that retail and banking have changed for good as a result of the pandemic and resulting economic and workforce shifts. Market trends and implications When stay at home orders were issued, non-essential brick and mortar businesses closed unexpectedly. What were retailers to do with no traffic coming through the doors at their physical locations? The impact on big-box retailers like Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting goods, Sears, JCPenney, Nike, Starbucks, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Kohl’s to name a few, has been unprecedented; some have had to shut their doors for good. Over the past several months global retail has seen e-commerce sales grow over 81% compared to the same period last year, according to Card Not Present. Some sectors have seen triple-digit growth year over year. Most online retailers have been ill-prepared to handle this increase in transactional volume in such a short amount of time, which has resulted in rapid fraud loss increases. A recent white paper from Aite Group reported that prior to COVID-19, a large financial institution forecasted an 8% decrease in fraud for 2020, but has since revised the projection to increase 10-15%. What does this all mean?  Bad actors are taking advantage of the pandemic to exploit the online retail channel. The increased remote channel usage—online, mobile, and contact centers in particular—continues to be an area where retailers are exposed. Account takeover, through phishing and relaxed call center controls, is rising as well. Increases in phishing attacks are leading to compromised and stolen identities and synthetic identity fraud. Account takeover (ATO) fraud has increased 347% since 2019 according to PYMNTS.com. A recent survey found more than a quarter of merchants (27%) admit that they don’t have measures to prevent ATO. 24% of merchants can’t identify an ATO during a purchase. 14% of merchants say they are not even aware that an ATO has occurred unless a customer contacts them. When criminals use these compromised accounts to make fraudulent purchases, the merchant loses revenue and the value of the goods. They can also suffer from damage to brand reputation and a loss of customer confidence. A lack of account security can have lasting effects as 65% of customers surveyed say they would likely stop buying from a merchant if their account was compromised, according to that same Card Not Present study. So how can retailers start to identify bad actors with malicious intent? This will be a constant struggle for retailers. Rather than a one size fits all solution, retailers must move toward a strategy that is nimble and dynamic and can address multiple areas of exposure. A fraudster could easily slip by one verification method—for instance with a stolen credential—only to be foiled by a secondary authentication tactic like device identity. A layered fraud strategy continues to be the industry best practice, where both passive and active authentication methods are leveraged to frustrate fraudsters without applying undue friction to “good” consumers. The layered solution should also utilize device risk, identity verification and fraud analytics, with tailoring to each businesses’ needs, risk tolerance, and customer profiles. Learn more about how to build a layered fraud strategy today. Learn more