Marketers have been warned that they need to tighten anti-fraud procedures online or suffer a loss of consumer trust, on the back of new findings by the Online Trust Alliance.
The US based body evaluated the Fortune 500 listed companies but found that only 37 per cent authenticated their email and/or implement Extended Validation Security Socket Layer (EV SSL) certificates - techniques which offer increased protection from online fraud and deceptive email.
Companies in the Fortune 100 rated better (45 per cent) than those listed in the Fortune 500 overall but with a general lack of safeguards in place marketers have been warned they need to act.
For those who have installed security measures, the OTA warned that marketers need to commit to ongoing maintenance to assure the highest level of accuracy in the email they authenticate.
Email authentication helps Internet Service Providers (ISPs), hosters and business networks validate that the sender of a message is authorised by the domain holder to send email. By taking this step, consumers and brands realise added protection in detecting forged email.
“Although there is no silver bullet to stop online fraud, adoption of open standards like email authentication and EV SSL certificates are best practices, and essential to restoring the consumer’s sense of security and privacy,“ said OTA Chairman and Founder, Craig Spiezle.
“OTA and its members are committed to providing the resources businesses need to enhance online trust.”
He added that the data for the largest companies and email marketers was encouraging, yet represented a disconnect between IT professionals, marketers and the stewards of the corporate brand.
“It is incumbent these groups join forces and adopt authentication principles before their brands and stockholders are harmed,” Spiezle warned.
The OTA is calling on all eCommerce, banking and leading governmental sites to adopt both email authentication and EV SSL certificates within the next six months.
In addition, the body is calling on all to ISPs to integrate inbound email authentication verification as a best practice.
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