Technologies Effective in Reducing Fraud

New Report Details How to Keep Users Safe Online


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - January 9, 2008) - Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), announces the results of its benchmark study focused on bolstering online user confidence and stopping fraud. The report, "Securing the Online User Experience - Building User Confidence and Stopping Fraud," details the strategies, capabilities and technologies used by the organizations that are doing the best job of growing user confidence and curbing fraud.

The research shows that organizations are very concerned about fraud but even more concerned about gaining and maintaining the confidence of their account holders.

"Everyone we spoke to -- at banks, service providers, e-tailers and consultancies -- was very, very apprehensive about the increase in the volume of and sophistication of fraud attacks," said Carol Baroudi, research director in the IT Security practice at Aberdeen. "Yet nearly all were even more concerned about account holder and potential account holder reticence. Survey respondents said that confidence has been steadily declining over the last seven years, and as a result, the cost of doing business online is climbing."

The research reveals a shift in account holder behavior that experts believe is attributable to increased media focus on the dangers associated with transacting business online and the attention being given to data breaches, phishing attacks and online scams. The traditional belief that account holders will always prefer convenience to the encumbrance of added security is being challenged by customer demands for tighter security and willing adoption of optional security mechanisms such as PayPal's security key.

Using reduced number incidents of fraud, reduced financial loss attributable to fraud, and increased number of account holders, online transactions, and transactions per account holder as key performance criteria, Aberdeen Group determined Best-in-Class organizations. The Best-in-Class account providers are getting dramatically different results from those of the Industry Average and Laggard organizations. They have different strategies and they deploy more security solutions, including newly emerging anti-fraud technologies.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Arcot, Quest Software and Quova. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4269.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Carol Baroudi Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5298 carol.baroudi@aberdeen.com

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