Customers Agree Biometrics Are Important Tools to Fight Online Fraud

We have good news in the frontline fight against digital criminals. New research indicates strong customer acceptance of some of our most potent weapons against online fraud – and just in time.

The rate of online fraud continues to escalate as people conduct more of their business online and on their phones. In fact, a new startling statistic from Javelin Strategy and Research’s 2021 Child Identity Fraud report found that one in 50 children are now the victims of identity fraud. 

Staying ahead of criminals requires new tools to prevent online fraud

Combating online fraud has always been a cat and mouse game. Security professionals invent a way to prevent unauthorized use of customer data and accounts, and fraudsters figure out how to break it. So we build something else. It’s a game to them, but it is serious business to those of us charged with protecting people’s assets. That’s why Mitek recommends a linked and layered approach to online security. This is a combination of verification methods that begin when a person opens an online account, and it stretches throughout the lifecycle of that customer’s relationship with a company.

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Creating layers of linked protection, including the use of biometrics, allows companies to mount the strongest defense against sophisticated and crafty fraudsters. So it is good news that Javelin’s recent report, 2021 Identity Fraud Study: Shifting Angles, found that the majority of consumers support the use of biometrics to validate identity.

• 66% support fingerprint scanning
• 63% support facial recognition for online identity verification purposes
• 62% support the use of iris scanning
• In a first, support for voice recognition reached 50%.

“Adoption of layered security will make the case for biometrics,” the report says. “The adoption of layered authentication by financial institutions will push consumers toward the more frictionless authentication experience provided by biometrics. By employing numerous authentication and security measures, financial institutions will establish a robust identity fraud defense and reinforce consumer trust. And that trust will build confidence in biometrics.”

Trust is key to frictionless adoption and to prevent online fraud

It makes sense that financial institutions are among the first to deploy these more sophisticated protection protocols. They have spent years earning their customers’ trust. In fact, trust has become a significant differentiator as customers decide who to do business with online. Now, buoyed by customer trust in this “banking grade” level of protection, companies can confidently increase their own verification systems without undue worry about a dip in their customers’ online experience.

Educating customers and companies about the proper use of biometrics for online identification verification and the protections built into a linked and layered approach will be essential to increasing the adoption for these essential tools.

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