Survey: Americans Are Frustrated by Security Measures

Despite the constant news of data breaches and card compromises, it seems that millions of Americans think web and phone security measures are too complicated. This is borne out in a new survey conducted by FICO and 72 Point, who polled 2,000 U.S. adults found 81 percent don’t see the need for what they consider unnecessary security procedures.

Some surprising stats:

• Almost half (47 percent) are tired of having to answer endless security questions whenever they call customer service departments.
• Over six in 10 (64 percent) don’t see the need for elaborate passwords featuring a mix of numbers, symbols and capital letters.
• 48 percent are frustrated with the use of two-step verification and seven in 10 (71 percent) are frustrated by captcha codes, which they say feature illegible words.
• 65 percent find it annoying when email systems log them out as a security measure.
• 78 percent said they struggle to keep track of all their passwords.
• 22 percent said they would either give up on opening a bank account completely, or give up and try at a different bank if they were forced to jump through too many hoops, such as having to post documents or travel to a branch in person.
• 71 percent think there are simply too many security measures nowadays.

“There’s a real discrepancy here – consumers are glad their bank is protecting them, but they’re frustrated that the protection is making it harder for them to open accounts and make purchases,” says TJ Horan, who oversees fraud solutions at FICO. “When it comes to digital transformation, a smooth customer experience is going to be vital. The winners will be the firms that can balance this against the need to stop fraud.”

A survey we did among UK consumers found similar results. We also recorded a short video on how consumers can stay safe online.

You can see more results from our survey in this infographic: