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MailFrontier Survey Finds that Consumers Hold Financial Institutions Accountable for Online Identitiy Theft
Stakes Are High For Financial Services Industry, Customer Loyality At Risk

Palo Alto, Calif. – November 10, 2004 –MailFrontier™, a pioneer in email security and leading provider of anti-spam solutions, today announced new consumer survey results that point to a coming upheaval in the financial services industry amidst the growing threat of online identity theft and phishing attacks. Consumers are looking to their financial institutions to protect them from this growing threat, but do not think enough is being done now. Without definitive action to improve the situation, consumers responded that they will migrate to those institutions that are providing a better level of online identity protection.

The following survey results revealed that consumers are holding financial institutions accountable for the current rise of online identity theft:

  • 94% of consumers feel that their bank and/or credit card company has a responsibility to protect them from online identity theft.
  • 52% of consumers feel that their bank and/or credit card company is not doing enough today to protect them from online identity theft.

The study also revealed that if action is not taken, there may be an upheaval that will likely shake up the financial services industry:

  • 40% of consumers noted that they will switch to another bank and/or credit card company that does offer protection from online identity theft.
  • 61% of consumers feel that if they responded to a fraudulent email that had spoofed their bank or credit card company, it is still the responsibility of the bank/credit card company to reimburse them for the money lost.

Phishing email, a fraudulent email tactic which attempts to trick consumers into providing personal and/or financial information, is the fastest growing threat to email communications today. A June 2004 report from the research firm, Gartner Group, found that 57 million U.S. adults have received a phishing email in the last year.

“Email phishing is no longer just a consumer problem. Curbing online identity theft is crucial for the success of businesses today,” said Anne Bonaparte, president and CEO of MailFrontier, Inc.  “Email phishing, one component of online identity theft, is alone having a powerful impact on consumer loyalty in the financial services industry. Consumers feel their protection is the responsibility of their bank or credit card company.”

MailFrontier continues to encourage email users to educate themselves and has developed a whitepaper “Surefire Tips to Protect Yourself From Phishing” which can be downloaded at http://www.mailfrontier.com/forms/mfwebsite_surefiretips_register.html. The whitepaper provides useful guidelines for email users when confronted with phishing attacks, from fraud and brand spoofing to data collection.

As a continuation of its efforts to fight phishing scams, while educating email users, MailFrontier commissioned the survey with Issues and Answers Network, Inc. The questions were added to an online omnibus survey that queried 1,006 respondents, ages 18+. The survey was fielded nationally October 18 and 19, 2004.

About MailFrontier
MailFrontier is a leading provider of email security solutions that stop unwanted email by protecting enterprises from the growing number of dangerous and costly email threats while giving them the ability to anticipate and stop new threats as they emerge. MailFrontier offers a comprehensive defense against all known email threats, including spam, viruses, phishing, blended threats and other attacks, such as directory harvest attacks. The company has more than 750 customers, including Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Pier 1 Imports, PNM Resources, San Francisco Giants and Wyndham International. Founded in February 2002, MailFrontier is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For additional information, go to www.mailfrontier.com.

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