Consumers Want Cell Phone Alerts

CU360
November 20, 2009 | COMMENTS

Most U.S. consumers want their credit card issuers to call them on their cell phones to alert them of possible suspicious transactions, according to a recent survey by fraud prevention firm Adeptra. When asked if they had more faith in their card issuers' abilities to prevent fraud or resolve fraud should it happen to them, consumers leaned slightly toward fraud prevention, with 6% stating they had a greater confidence in fraud prevention over fraud resolution.

When asked how they'd like issuers to contact them to flag a potential fraudulent transaction and check its legitimacy, most consumers (54%) prefer to be contacted by a call to their cell phone. One-fifth of respondents would prefer to be contacted by a call to their landline phone, and another 20% opted for e-mail notification. About 6% prefer to be contacted by cell phone text or Short Message Service (SMS) on other handheld devices.

Adeptra's technology includes fraud prevention solutions that automatically notify potential victims of fraud in real-time. The company claims these solutions help card issuers and banks cut credit card fraud by up to 50%.

Although identity theft continues to be perceived as a major public concern in North America , research shows that credit card fraud has decreased as a percentage of all identity theft for six years in a row, indicating that banks and card issuers are improving and reacting in real-time to prevent fraud losses and customer inconvenience. Despite this step-up in activity, 23% of people surveyed had been a victim of credit card fraud.

Consumers' awareness of their own finances varied. About 11% of respondents checked their credit card and bank statements daily, with 53% checking statements on a weekly basis, 33% on a monthly basis, and 3% never check their statements. Consumers who have been a victim of fraud are more likely than average to check their statements regularly: 15% check daily, 57% weekly, and 28% monthly.

Fraud prevention initiatives and strategies now include faster response time and understanding consumer preferences. Speed, transparency, and the right mix of communication channels let consumers know when there might be fraud so they can stop a small problem from turning into a larger one.