Careless businesses driving public fear of fraud

New research from insurer RSA has revealed organisations must urgently address rising fears that they are not adequately protecting their customers' personal information. According to the study, a staggering 90% of people in the UK think important personal information held by companies such as banks, retailers and online auction sites is not completely secure. Just as worrying is the fact that nearly half (46%) of Britain think their banks and retailers do not do enough to protect their personal details.

The findings also revealed that people are becoming increasingly worried about the security of their personal information and the threat of ID fraud; 56% are more concerned about this than they were six months ago. And perhaps there is cause for worry. The research showed that over 868,000 people in the UK have accidentally left work documents or devices such as a laptop or Blackberry in a public place or on public transport.

With a number of high-profile cases in the last year, it is not surprising that the vast majority of people (90%) do not approve of employees carrying customer's personal information outside the office. The survey also revealed that people believe that actions by company employees pose the greatest threat to their personal information. The chief concern was carelessness by company employees when disposing of confidential information, followed by a fear of fraud being committed by members of staff. Third, in order of concern, was weak management leading to insufficient checks on the actions of staff.

Top 5 tips for consumers to avoid becoming a victim:

• When asked to reveal any personal identifying information, such as bank details, make sure you know how it will be used, if it will be shared and who you are giving the information to. Be wary of anyone that could be listening in or looking over your shoulder.
• Try not to carry too many personal identification information and cards around with you, and you should never note down pins or passwords.
• Keep an eye on your credit report with all three credit reference agencies, i.e. Experian, Equifax and CallCredit. If you do find an error, no matter how small, make sure you follow it up and get it changed.
• Shred statements, bills and direct mail, don't just throw them in the bin.
• Always check bank statements and credit card statements thoroughly.

Top Tips for companies to engage employees in assessing risk and considering customer confidentiality:

• Help employees become aware of the risk of taking items, such as laptops, outside the office. Employees must be encouraged to consider themselves as responsible for the safe keeping of huge amounts of customer sensitive data.
• Don't allow compliance to take the place of judgement. The challenge is not for companies to focus on issuing protocols, but to think intelligently about encouraging staff to understand the risks.
• Engage employees in an ongoing dialogue to discuss different issues surrounding risk management. For example – what activity do they consider suitable to undertake on the train commuting into work.
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06 October 2008 © Moneyextra.com

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