Research carried out by Callcredit Information Group and YouGov* has revealed that 48% of 18-24 year olds would not report an unsuccessful fraud attempt to their bank. More worryingly, 22% do not know who they would report the attempt to and a further 12% would not report the attempt to anyone.
John Cannon, Director, Fraud & ID at Callcredit Information Group said: “There appears to be a growing trend in fraudsters turning their attention to this younger, technologically savvy age group, therefore more needs to be done to ensure 18-24 year olds are aware of the importance of keeping their personal data safe. These younger consumers need more information and education about not giving sensitive information to those who request it, even if the source of the request appears legitimate,” continued Cannon.
Fraud and Risk report 2015 infographic
Interestingly, Generation X and Baby Boomers are far more fraud aware than 18-24 year olds. The research found that more than 70% of those aged between 40 and 59 would report an unsuccessful fraud attempt to their bank and only 3% of those aged 60 and over don’t know who they would contact. This suggests that the financial services community has been successful at educating older people and more needs to be done to educate Millennials about the risks of fraud and the importance of protecting their personal data.
Victims of Financial Fraud
The Callcredit Fraud & Risk Report finds that 6% of consumers have been a victim of financial fraud in the past 12 months and this is set to rise. According to figures published by Financial Fraud Action UK in October 2015, remote banking fraud losses rose by 37% to £65.9m in the first half of 2015 alone.
The most common way in which fraudsters contact people is via email with 35% of respondents saying they have been contacted by email and asked to provide their personal or bank details; 16% of consumers have been asked to provide their personal or bank details by phone and 7% have been contacted via text message.
Using New Technologies to Validate and Verify Identity
As fraud increases and fraudsters adapt to new technologies, so must the way individual identity is validated and verified. The Callcredit Fraud & Risk Report reveals that 74% of consumers surveyed would be comfortable with their bank identifying them using fingerprint technology; 65% would be comfortable with their bank using facial recognition; and 57% would be comfortable with their bank using pulse detection technology – through touching a screen or pad with your finger. Interestingly the digitally native Millennials are far less comfortable using these new identity validation and verification technologies than Generation X and Baby Boomers aged 40 or over.
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