Meet Me Halfway

I admit it. I am vulnerable.

As a consumer with a bank account and credit cards, I am vulnerable to a fraud attack. I’ll even admit that up until a couple of months ago I was somewhat lazy when it came to reviewing my bank and credit card statements, especially since going paperless. When I did get around to looking them over, I was in catch-up mode, and did not spend the time carefully checking each line item. The unfortunate thing is…I’m not alone. There are many account holders just like me who aren’t on the ball when it comes to monitoring their statements in a timely fashion, if at all. Many consumers rely on their banks to do this for them.

However, now that I have joined “the fraud squad” here at Memento, I am on high alert. I have checked every statement and I have changed every online password – each one being different than the other. But is that enough? I have quickly come to an answer. No.

What I have done to protect myself is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. While I have taken precautions to make it more difficult for a fraudster to compromise my bank and credit card accounts, I would like to understand  what the financial institutions are doing to help me and the countless others.

In the research I’ve done over the past couple of weeks, I couldn’t help but notice a surprising stat from the 2010 Faces of Fraud Survey published by Bank Info Security. According to the survey, consumers seem to catch fraud much faster than the banks do. I give kudos to the vigilant customers for paying attention and notifying their financial institutions.

While I certainly have turned over a new leaf by being more diligent about monitoring my statements, I don’t want to be the only one paying attention. The FIs need to do more to protect the financial well-being of their customers. 

I am holding up my end of the bargain. What are the FIs going to do to hold up theirs?

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