Study Shows Online Companies at Risk for Fraud

By Susan J. Campbell,
Contributing Editor, Customer Interaction Solutions

Ensuring that customers are confident that their data is secure in a company’s database is significant for all organizations. In the contact center especially, the environment is such that agents must often ask for or have access to information on customers that can include social security numbers and other sensitive information.

According to Finjan, a provider of secure Web gateway products, a newly published report from CyberSource claims to show that one in eight online UK firms is suffering as a result of fraud. In fact, this report found that one in eight online firms is losing more than five percent of revenues to fraud.

"We at Finjan believe that a pound spent on effective IT security in a business is rewarded with cost savings in many other areas several times over", said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, Finjan’s Chief Technology Officer.

"The UK edition of the CyberSource Online Fraud Report notes on the lack of co-ordination and government support in the fight against fraud. This all confirms our strategy that investing in anti-fraud IT security technology really is worth its weight in gold," Ben-Itzhak added.

Unfortunately, companies are generally alone when it comes to planning an effective strategy to beat financial fraud, but they can implement tools within the contact center to ensure agents are not the culprits. Denying access to the information can prohibit effective customer service, yet full access also puts the company and customers at some level of risk.

Technology is available that can help to significantly mitigate risk of a company’s systems being breached. There are also solutions on the market that can prevent internal breaches by untrustworthy agents. Not every solution is 100 percent foolproof, but their mere existence on the network can help to prevent a certain amount of fraud.

Contact centers do not have to be the guilty parties when an online company is subject to fraudulent practices, but they can easily become the target if effective protections are not in place. As online shopping and other commerce continue to increase, the demand for secure solutions will also grow. Those that embrace the latest technology will be able to deliver the best experience.

Consumers Appreciate Useful Outbound Calls
One of the biggest areas of controversy in the area of telecommunications is the usefulness of telemarketing. While many consumers begrudge those dinner hour calls from companies they have no interest in working with, still others do buy the products and services offered in the calls, making them valuable to their parent companies.

Harris International recently completed a survey on behalf of speech technology company, Nuance. The survey found that consumers do actually like receiving outbound calls from companies, as long as the information provided is useful. The other catch — it needs to be a company with which the consumer is already doing business.

According to this survey, more than 80 percent of respondents do not mind being called at home in the evening as long as it is to alert them to a potential threat of fraud, a product delivery or payment. Consumers also appreciate appointment reminders.

Harris International also found that most consumers expect that a company should solicit their permission before sending out proactive sales messages —even if they are recorded. At the same time, a lower proportion reported that it was necessary to get permission for useful communications like service outages or travel updates.

Ian Turner, general manager northern EMEA of Nuance said, “The private and professional lives of today’s always-on generation of consumers, is far busier and more complicated than ever before. Proactive outbound messaging can make their lives easier through measures such as timely reminders or helpful information alerts. This service is not invasive, and it has been well received by consumers who have come to value its efficiency.”

While this survey revealed valuable information as to consumer preferences when it comes to telemarketing notifications, these preferences can change over time. For instance, if a consumer starts receiving calls frequently from several different companies, the value of the information diminishes with each call.

One method to avoid oversaturation could be for companies to ask their customers what type of information for which they want to receive notification — such as fraud alerts — and what information they would prefer to find out on their own. This approach can not only help to contain outbound customer contacts, it also communicates how important the customer is to the company.

In this day of shrinking dollars, companies are seeking better ways to communicate with and sell to customers. When a company puts the customer first, their communications are more likely to be received positively to help drive revenue.

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