Data from YouGov Profiles reveals that Britons who have experienced bank or credit account fraud are twice as likely to have experienced identity theft
A recent report in The Telegraph revealed that the Payment Systems Regulator may soon force British banks to repay all victims of fraud. In mid-December, the Financial Ombudsman service also claimed that financial institutions are too quick to blame customers who have experienced this crime.
Whether Brits or banks are to blame, data from YouGov Profiles indicates that it may not be an uncommon crime. When asked what kinds of fraud they’ve ever been a victim of, six in ten (59%) members of the general public say they have never experienced any kind of fraud – but one in five (19%) say they have been the victim of bank fraud.
Our data indicates that these Brits are also more often the victims of other kinds of fraud than the general public.
Most notably, they’re twice as likely to have had their identity stolen (12% vs. 5% of a nationally representative sample) - which may overlap with bank fraud - or to have experienced data security fraud or computer hacking (12% vs. 5%). Just under one in ten (8%) have also endured shopping or auction fraud compared to 5% of the public. Five percent have experienced advance fee fraud (vs. 4% nat rep) and 4% have been misled into making a charity donation to an illegitimate enterprise or individual (vs. 2% nat rep). Some 7% of bank fraud victims have also experienced other types of fraud or scams that do not fit into any of the categories we suggested (vs. 5% nat rep).
So why does fraud happen?
The major reasons offered by both bank/credit fraud victims and the general public revolve around consumer naivety. Lack of awareness (64% bank fraud victims vs. 59% nat rep), being too trusting when purchasing things online (54% vs. 53% nat rep) and being gullible/wanting to believe the best in people (53% vs. 56% nat rep) make up the top three.
Bank fraud victims are generally more likely to believe that technical or technological failures make someone a more attractive target for scammers. Half (49%) think that a lack of protection on electronic devices makes fraud more probable (vs. 43% nat rep), and they’re also more prone to believing that data security breaches are responsible for fraud (47% vs. 43% nat rep). Two in five (40%) think that a lack of protection for chip and pin devices can also increase the consumer’s risk (vs. 35% nat rep).
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