Banks, telcos and the like are squandering consumer trust

In a study by Callsign, half of the roughly 10,000 consumers surveyed blame banks, retailers, telcos and social media for the frequent occurrence of scamming. The problem is so pervasive that consumers even distrust the technology designed to protect them from scammers. They want an online identification system that prevents scams.

"The data shows that consumer trust in our digital world has disappeared and, rightly or wrongly, brands are being blamed for it," says Stuart Dobbie, senior vice president, innovation at Callsign. In fact, he says, little is being done to specifically restore digital trust through complete and accurate digital identities.

45 percent of consumers surveyed worldwide complain about ongoing fraud involving fake brand names. 42 percent call on mobile operators in particular, among others, to do more to prevent criminals from abusing their platforms. 33 percent believe that banks should do more to ensure the security of their customers.

Better identifications

Respondents complain of fraud attempts via email (67 percent), text message (57 percent), phone (46 percent), messaging apps (33 percent) and social media (23 percent). Thirty-seven percent don't know who to report fraud attempts to or are exposed to so many that they can't take care of them. More than half do not trust companies to ensure the security of their data.

"The solution is to rethink how we fight fraud and how we identify people online. Current approaches only identify fraud attempts," says Namrata Jolly, Callsign General Manager Asia Pacific. She says this only prevents a fraudster using stolen credentials from looking like a real user accessing accounts or performing transactions. "However, if protection measures are designed to positively identify genuine users, that automatically prevents fraud," Jolly concludes. (pte)