Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

Study Shows Online Companies at Risk for Fraud

February 24, 2009

Providing customers with the confidence that their information is secure in the company’s database is significant for all organizations. In the contact center especially, the environment is such that agents must often ask for or have access to information on customers that can include social security numbers and other sensitive information.

 
According to Finjan Inc., a provider of secure Web gateway products, a newly published report from CyberSource shows that one in eight online U.K. firms is suffering as a result of fraud. In fact, this report found that one in eight online firms is losing more than five percent of revenues to fraud.
 
"We at Finjan believe that a pound spent on effective IT security in a business is rewarded with cost savings in many other areas several times over", said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, Finjan's Chief Technology Officer, in a company statement.
 
"The U.K. edition of the CyberSource Online Fraud Report notes on the lack of co-ordination and government support in the fight against fraud. This all confirms our strategy that investing in anti-fraud IT security technology really is worth its weight in gold," Ben-Itzhak added.

Unfortunately, companies are greatly on their own when it comes to planning an effective strategy to beat financial fraud, but they can implement tools within the contact center to ensure agents are not the culprits. Denying access to the information can prohibit effective customer service, yet full access also puts the company and customers at some level of risk.

Technology is available that can help to significantly mitigate risk of a company’s systems being breached. There are also solutions on the market that can prevent internal breaches by untrustworthy agents. Not every solution is 100 percent foolproof, but their mere existence on the network can help to prevent a certain amount of fraud.

"Carefully planned and executed effective anti-fraud strategy need not cost the earth, but the emphasis has to be on planning and working with your IT security supplier on developing the strategy. Then, once a good system is installed, it is equally essential to maintain the systems' efficacy," said Ben-Itzhak.

Contact centers do not have to be the guilty parties when an online company is subject to fraudulent practices, but they can easily become the target if effective protections are not in place. As online shopping and other commerce continue to increase, the demand for secure solutions will also grow. Those that embrace the latest technology will be able to deliver the best experience.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for ContactCenterSolutions and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi



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