For 74 percent of consumers security is crucial for their online experience

While businesses often have invested in one at the expense of the other, consumers across the globe expect both. So much so that 70% of them are willing to share more personal data with the organisations they interact with online, particularly when they see a benefit such as greater online security and convenience.

The report went on to discuss how many businesses are proactively sharing with customers how they use their personal information. The report found that nearly 80% of consumers say the more transparent a business is about the use of their information, the greater trust they have in that business.

Findings from the third annual fraud report also include:

• 55% of businesses reported an increase in fraud-related losses over the past 12 months, particularly account opening and account takeover attacks;

• 60% of consumers globally are aware of the risks involved with providing their personal information to banks and retailers online;

• 90% of consumers are aware that businesses are collecting, storing and using their personal information.

Banks and insurance companies are the organizations trusted most by consumers across most regions. Online retail sites and social media sites trail considerably on trust.

Nearly nine out of 10 consumers report conducting personal banking as their top online activity.
Passwords, PIN codes and security questions remain the authentication methods most widely used by businesses, followed by document verification, physical biometrics and CAPTCHA.

The Global Identity and Fraud Report also shows how different regions across the globe view and manage fraud:

• concern for fraud and increased fraud losses are highest among businesses in the US;

• the greatest number of consumers who already have experienced a fraudulent event online are in the US, with the lowest number of consumers from EMEA;

• the US and the UK lead with the biggest increase in fraud management budgets over the past 12 months, with three-quarters of businesses budgeting more for fraud management this year;

• Latin America is a top user of advanced authentication technology where CAPTCHA, physical biometrics and customer identification programs make up the top three authentication methods;

• physical biometrics seems to have the largest positive impact on trust, particularly in Colombia and the US.

To develop the study, Experian interviewed more than 10,000 consumers and more than 1,000 businesses across 21 countries around the world.