Consumer confidence and brand loyalty is not the only thing at risk

While the advances in technology over the past decade have allowed organizations to reach a much wider client base, they have, in the same breath, exposed corporate North America to a greater potential of security risk.  Subsequently, when we think of “access to information” for blind, deafblind and partially sighted individuals, we think in terms of reaching this consumer base with alternate format communication materials.  Among the many benefits of providing such a service, security certainly tops the list, and with March declared fraud protection month internationally, I thought I would outline some areas of startling risk.  
 
With breaches of personal information becoming more prevalent as a result of the rising incidents of data compromise, it is understandable why statistics tell us that nearly 90% of individuals are concerned about threats to their privacy, and why more and more consumers are exercising their right to determine when, how and to what extent they share personal information with others.  
 
As consumers become increasingly concerned about data security and the protection of their private information, more and more organizations face challenges related to governance, risk and compliance.  I just recently came across some interesting statistics addressing fraud and identity theft issues that organizations face in today’s challenging marketplace and thought I would highlight some key aspects…          

Just this past month, the FTC released a list of top consumer fraud complaints received by the agency in 2007. The list, contained within the publication, “Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data January-December 2007“,  showed that for the seventh year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint category.  Of the 813,899 total complaints received in 2007, 32% (258,427) were related to identity theft. The report indicates that credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft at 23%, followed closely by utilities fraud (18%), employment fraud (14%) and bank fraud (13%).       

As outlined in the PWC Global Economic Crime Survey 2007, over 43% of the companies interviewed reported suffering one or more significant economic crimes, and in the U.S., the average loss as a result of fraud per company increased nearly 40% in two years from roughly $1.7 million in 2005 to approximately $2.4 million in 2007.  Over 80% of respondents who suffered fraud also stated that it had caused damage, or significant damage, to their business.

It’s difficult to determine which is more overwhelming - the mass number of individuals falling victim to identity theft each day, or the mass number of dollars that are at risk for organizations.  Based on these statistics, it is evident that no industry is immune to the threat of economic crime, although apparent that varying forms of fraud impacts different sectors.

For organizations, providing blind, deafblind and partially sighted consumers with personal financial information in alternate format communications offers additional protection against the risk of loss; providing the opportunity to independently review their monthly transactional statements for accuracy, which translates into greater consumer confidence and brand loyalty.