17 September 2007
1 in 10 of households victim of online fraud
76% concerned about theft of personal details during online transactions
78% want banks to upgrade online security
Recent survey results released by TNS and RaboPlus found that a staggering one in 10 households have fallen victim to online banking fraud in one form or another.
The survey also revealed 76% of retail banking customers are concerned their personal details will be stolen through online transactions, and even more (78%) want banks to offer better protection than just "username" and "password".
How protected are bank customers in Australia?
The alarmingly high number of households that have already felt the impact of online fraud has undoubtedly raised expectations of online banking security.
The survey showed that 59% of customers have security that extends to username, password and customer number, with possibly one additional security question required to conduct transactions online.
Whilst this is a slight improvement on username and password alone, according to RaboPlus Head of Financial Services, Bryan Inch, bank customers in Australia are well behind their European and US counterparts in online security.
"As online banking is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia, there is an understandable groundswell amongst bank customers to find the best in online security to protect themselves against fraud and identity theft," he said.
Underpinning Inch's comments, the survey showed that less than 10 per cent of the respondents had two-factor authentication.
Call for banks to improve their online security
Generally, customers believe banks should take greater responsibility for online security, with 63% of respondents indicating that it is not sufficient for banks to say they will cover losses without improving their online security systems.
And 49% of respondents felt that banks should be liable for any losses, despite security software not being kept up to date by customers.
When respondents were asked to rate the importance of factors preventing online fraud:
87% said 'not writing down or telling anyone my password';
85% said having up to date software;
80% said not undertaking any online banking from an internet café.
How can you reduce the risk of online fraud?
Be vigilant about protecting your personal details.
Ensure you have appropriate and up to date security software installed on the computer you use for online banking.
Educate yourself on the various forms of online fraud such as phishing, viruses and Malware.
Never respond to an email asking for your personal banking details.
Find out and take advantage of the security systems your bank offers. (Some banks in Australia have started offering SMS and one-time password tokens to high value and corporate customers, or those making large transactions. RaboPlus supplies all its customers a free Digipass, delivering multi-factor authentication).
About the survey
A banking security survey of 1,043 retail banking customers across Australia was conducted online in July, 2007 by TNS and RaboPlus.