Bank of America has come top in a US study rating financial institutions for their ability to prevent, detect and resolve consumer identity theft.
The study, which was conducted by financial services research firm Javelin Strategy & Research, evaluated over 60% of the US banking market.
Bank of America received the highest overall ranking, closely followed by JP Morgan Chase and Washington Mutual. Marshall & Ilsley Bank received top honors for prevention – the category with the most weight in the evaluation.
Citibank was singled out for its clearly stated email policies, which make it easier for consumers to avoid phishing.
Financial institutions have improved significantly in giving consumers the tools they need to detect fraud on their own, commented James Van Dyke, president of Javelin Strategy & Research. However, he said that prevention was a key area that banks needed to work on: Financial institutions focus much more on resolving problems after they occur rather than stopping them upfront.
One way to improve prevention, according to the report, is to allow consumers to prohibit certain unusual and risky transactions. Providers can also improve detection by offering the types of alerts that consumers commonly want to receive and that also provide the strongest protection benefits.