Cardholder Preferences Vary For Suspicious Account-Activity Notification

By Kate Fitzgerald

Most consumers want issuers to contact them through multiple communication channels if the institutions suspect fraudulent activity on their debit or credit cards. But their preferred communication channel varies significantly by age group, suggest the results of a recent survey.

Harris Interactive polled 1,017 adults March 5 to 8 to gauge their experiences with suspicious card activity. It conducted the telephone survey on behalf of SoundBite Communications Inc., a Bedford, Mass.-based provider of customer-contact software designed for banks.

Thirty percent of respondents said they had experienced some type of suspicious or fraudulent activity on their credit or debit card, and 79% said their card issuer notified them of the activity. Of those who experienced fraudulent card activity, 54% were notified by a call to a home, work or mobile telephone; 33% received a letter; 18% were notified by e-mail; and 1% were notified by text message. Some 17% said they received no notification of the fraudulent activity, and about 3% were not sure.

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