Most business respondents said they are working to safeguard consumer identity, prevent fraud, and improve the online customer experience, yet with mixed results.
The report titled '2022 Global Identity and Fraud Report' was published by Experian, shows that businesses with considerable consumer trust leverage automated solutions and ensure robust staffing of digital support programmes to protect customers.
However, businesses continue to face threats. Nearly half of all respondents said that fraud was a high concern, while 90 per cent reported it as a mid-to-high concern.
Seventy per cent of the businesses said their worries about fraud have increased over the past 12 months, given the rising cases of fraud, from benefits and unemployment cheats to phishing.
While the concern varies among industries, over half of the respondents from retail banking, credit card networks, and consumer lending specialists categorise their fraud concerns as high.
Industries that have been hit the hardest by fraud, such as retail banking, were the most worried. The study also found that the top strategic investment areas of most respondents were automation of fraud risk decisions, ransomware prevention, and security of mobile channels.
The research also shows that the online spending of more than half of the consumers interviewed has increased over the past three months.
Forty-eight per cent of consumers aged 40 to 54 and 32 per cent of consumers aged 55 to 64 have ramped up their online activity, the report said. And half of the respondents globally said they plan to increase their online spending over the next three months.
Furthermore, consumers ranked security and privacy as their top priority, more than convenience and personalisation, in line with the trend every year.
Nearly three-quarters of consumers expect businesses to take security steps to protect them online. They want companies to protect them since they want to collect their data. For example, 57 per cent of consumers said they will share data if it ensures greater security.
Ninety-seven per cent of businesses in India said improving customer journey is paramount.
Also, the report said that the companies surveyed gave nearly equal weight to 20 strategic priorities that touched on automation , ransomware protection, open banking, e-commerce, AI, security, fraud prevention, and authentication, among others.
Neeraj Dhawan, country manager, Experian India, said, “There has been an exponential rise in digital payments in India, driven by the increase adoption of technology, making consumers and businesses susceptible to new and innovative types of online fraud. With the boom in the digital payments, consumers and businesses need to remain vigilant and aware of emerging fraud trends and understand the risks involved in online transactions."
