The Federal Trade Commission in the US recently released their consumer complaints survey results and for the 12th year running, the number one consumer complaint was identity theft.

Whilst this result is arguably predictable, given that it is after all, the 12th time identity fraud has topped the list, what is surprising is the fact that institutions seem to be struggling with addressing their customers’ complaints.

Interestingly, government documents/benefits fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft with 27%, which was followed by credit card fraud with 14%, phone or utilities fraud with 13% and bank fraud with 9%.

Service providers should take note - consumers’ are concerned about fraud and have made it their priority to prevent it from happening again. Customer experience is vital to a business’s or government departments’ success, especially in the financial services industry, where the market is crowded and consumers have the freedom to vote with their feet and switch to competitor companies.

Service providers could therefore lose money in two ways: costs spent on fixing the fraud and losing disgruntled customers.

Preventing fraud doesn’t have to be a complicated affair. Finding the right security systems and knowing which methods of authentication are best for each individual business model is key, as no one size fits all; it’s all about layers of protection. Security technology is advancing and in the fight against identity theft we are able to authenticate today using biometric technology, and for me, the most secure, dynamic and user-friendly is voice-based. It’s an exciting time for the security industry and stopping a fraud or catching it early will make customers feel assured and it’s just good customer service.