Australians fear on-line banking ID fraud

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 15 November 2005 10:00

IT Industry - Market

A new piece of research has revealed that the biggest fear of Australian banking customers is loss of money through ID fraud.

The survey of 8,339 people, including 903 Australians, by global IT services company Unisys, also shows that Australians are the largest users of on-line banking, presenting Australian banks with the challenges of retaining their customers, managing risk, and investing in new security systems.

According to the research, nearly half of all bank account or credit card holders worldwide would consider switching banks if a competitor offered better protection against identity theft.

One in five of all survey respondents said they worried 'a lot' about fraud, with 47% of Australians expressing loss of money as their primary concern.  Respondents also considered the risk of someone committing a crime in their name and the time and effort required to fix any resulting problems as cause for worry.

Australia has suffered far fewer reported instances of ID fraud than many other countries. We are sixth in the list of countries, with the United States leading with 17% of surveyed consumers citing they had been victims. The United Kingdom (11%), Brazil (9%), Mexico (8%), France (8%), Australia (7%), Germany (3%) and Hong Kong (1%) follow the US.

Australians have the highest take-up of online banking services at 47%, followed by the US (40%), France (32%), the UK (30%), Hong Kong (27%), Germany (27%) and Brazil (18%).

When it comes to protecting customers against identity fraud, most consumers view biometrics (fingerprint, eye scans) and smart card readers as the most effective preventative measures, at 61% and 40% respectively.

Nearly 50% of respondents believed banks should regularly upgrade security software, though Australians were less likely to view this as important. 

Overall, 53% of consumers would like to receive information from financial institutions about banking security and fraud protection.

Rob Dewar, managing partner financial services Unisys Australia-New Zealand, said: 'Australian banks have to continue to tread that fine business line of educating their customers about secure banking practices, managing the risk, and investing in new systems that increase security. This research shows that Australians are very aware of the security of their cash and investments. And Australians share one thing with their overseas counterparts: if affected by ID fraud, they will move their accounts.

'Australians can also do more themselves, though. The research shows we are less likely to change our PINS regularly and less likely to shred our personal documents.'

'Banks and other financial institutions must ensure that their risks are clearly visible, that they are secure in the knowledge that they can manage risk events, and that they can clearly demonstrate these assurances to their customers.'

Telephone surveys were conducted by International Communications Research on behalf of Unisys among households in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, the UK and the US between June 17 and August 22 2005.