In association with International Fraud Awareness Week, leading brands Sitel Group and CallMiner partnered on a new report on preventing fraud and improving CX with artificial intelligence. The study set out to identify consumer concerns around fraud as well as customer habits, channel preferences, and perceptions around the use of AI in the contact centre.
The study gathered responses from 1,200 US Americans with a 21-question survey and revealed some interesting information about the state of CX today. According to the report, while just under 46% of Americans say that they have been victims of fraud, 92% believe that the risk of fraud is increasing in our day-to-day lives.
Communicating with Companies
According to the Sitel report, most consumers feel most comfortable talking to a brand or company over the phone. Phone communication was even more popular than social media (6%), and live chat (14%). However, while people feel relatively comfortable using phones for customer service, they’re also concerned about their security levels. 87% of Americans admitted that they’re concerned about sharing their personal information over the phone with a brand. Gen Z (90%) were the most concerned about their potential to be targeted for fraud over the phone.
Interestingly, though consumers are worried about sharing information with a brand over the phone, when the respondents were asked which channel, they believe presents the highest opportunity for fraud today, 47% named social media channels. This response could be linked to recent scandals in the news reducing the confidence Americans have in social channels.
In a world where customers are clearly nervous about how and where they share information with brands, it’s important for companies to have a strategy for offering peace of mind. One option could be to provide better employee training so that agents can explain why personal information is necessary. 7 in 10 Americans have previously wondered why customer support reps have asked for their information.
Could Disruptive Technology be a Solution?
Another option for today’s companies could be to invest in new technology. Although 82% of Americans said that they haven’t used a smart assistant to conduct a customer support call, nearly one in five have. Additionally, younger generations like Gen Z are more likely to use assistants to connect with a company. When asked whether they would feel comfortable making a purchase via an assistant, one in five Americans said they would.
Of the Sitel respondents that didn’t feel comfortable making purchases with smart assistants, 43% said the reason that was that they were concerned someone might be able to hack into their device. This information indicates that if businesses want to start taking advantage of new technology like voice-enabled technology, they’ll need to find ways to prioritise security.
As voice-focused tech continues to grow in popularity, it’s going to be more common in both fraud prevention and customer experience programs going forward. One in 10 people said that they use voice authentication today to access bank and credit accounts already.
Should Businesses Be Doing More?
Importantly, the Sitel study also found that 86% of Americans believe that brands should be working harder to protect their information and prevent fraud. More than one in four Americans also said that they don’t trust that brands and companies are handling their information securely. When asked to assess the industry that might be more susceptible to fraud, more than half of the respondents said the financial and banking services environment, compared 30% saying retail, and 7% saying healthcare.
There is still hope, however. 7 in 10 Americans said that the financial and banking services industry appears to be the most proactive in using AI and other technology to detect and prevent fraud. However, there is more work to be done.
Around three in four Americans believe that information might be captured on call recordings when they contact a support department, putting them at greater risk of fraud. Additionally, Gen Z respondents were the most likely to worry that the personal information captured on recordings put them at risk. Today’s businesses need to plan new ways to put their customer’s minds at ease when it comes to capturing information and personal data in any environment. Whether you’re embracing AI self-service or sticking to phone-based customer service, your customers need reassurance.
