Guest Article: Unisys Corporation Confirms Increasing Concern about Fraud

In our first guest article, a fellow blogger, Courtney Phillips addresses the current fraud trends in the US market.

In a report released in late February by Unisys Corporation, figures showed that a whopping 75% of Americans believe that the current financial crisis has increased the likelihood of experiencing fraud and identity theft related crimes.

According to Tim Kelleher, vice president and general manager of Managed Security Services for Unisys, the majority of the American public has their guard up, and rightly so. “Consumers, businesses and governments alike all need to take greater precautions. Our research may provide insight for enterprises to consider when communicating about security concerns and delivering services to their customers.”

Unisys conducts bi-annual studies of consumer opinions in four areas of security concern. In the latest February poll more than a thousand Americans responded and noted the increased concern. “The economy’s pervasive effects go well beyond job losses and home foreclosures.” Said Kelleher, “Our data shows most people see an immediate, personal risk from greater fraud. Yet criminals see this risk as an opportunity, and new social engineering fraud schemes can tap into peoples’ fears.”

The most feared breach of security to the average American: Their personal credit or debit card. The report noted that 68 percent of those polled reported that they are ‘extremely or very concerned’ about the safety of their personal accounts. The amount of people who responded that they had ‘no concern’ was at the lowest level since the survey began 25 years ago.

But individuals aren’t the only ones who should be concerned as the economy continues to sag. Business should be on the lookout for criminals watching for weaknesses in the system. Keller reminded that it was up to businesses to provide an infrastructure that would both be secure and provide customers with the reassurance they needed.

“Banks and businesses need to understand that customers are more wary than ever about using services that may compromise their personal data,” he continued, “If economic concerns increase these fears, companies need new strategies to strengthen customer confidence through accountability and transparency, which also plays to part of the Obama administration’s call to action for government and business.”

Is your data safe?
Experts are increasingly recommending an even closer watch on credit reports and bank statements to stop identity fraud before it can ruin your financial state of affairs. A good bet would be to close any unused accounts and safeguard information that might otherwise go into the trash. At the very least shredding or destroying documents before they are disposed of can provide for more protection.

This post was contributed by Courtney Phillips, who writes about ranking of community colleges. Courtney has also contributed her thoughts on Stimulus Fraud in the US. She welcomes your feedback at CourtneyPhillips80 at gmail.com