Fighting fraud through customer communication

Financial institutions today are acutely aware of the need to improve communication with customers. It's the bedrock of many efforts to retain and build more profitable relationships. Not to mention it can be a huge asset in the fight against banking fraud.

There are some excellent new ways to enable this communication, thanks to technology advances and the broad acceptance of mobile devices with SMS and other texting capabilities. Not surprisingly, many financial institutions are leveraging these new tactics to enhance more traditional communication methods. Indeed, our own clients have benefited from using:

• Account alerts. Encourage cardholders to set up their own accounts for alerts to be delivered in real time via their preferred communication channel (email, smart phone via SMS, etc.). As I’ve blogged previously, these alerts can be valuable communication tools—for instance, to instantly reach cardholders and ask whether a significant transaction, like a high-dollar ATM withdrawal, could be fraudulent.
• Secure communication. Recognize that the most secure way to communicate with your customers is by posting all confidential communications inside a secure online banking website. Require customers to sign in and pass authentication challenges before viewing sensitive messages.
• Communication templates. Create communication content in advance, so you can reach out to cardholders at a moment’s notice in the event of a fraud scheme. Make sure legal experts review this content before it’s distributed to customers. As a starting point, here’s a sample call center script, notification letter and FAQ document.

These recommendations came from a recent working group of FICO clients that I pulled together specifically to solicit best practices for managing card compromises. We’ll provide a comprehensive list of these "insider tips" in a soon-to-be-published Insights white paper. When the paper publishes, I’ll post a heads-up here on the blog.