Study: Why brands must fight email fraud

Turns out the cost of email fraud can be bigger - and last longer - than many brands realize. According to a recent Return Path report, the biggest costs associated with email fraud is a loss of trust from consumers - and their turning to competitor brands hoping for better security.

by Kristina Knight

Return Path researchers have been looking at the costs associated with email fraud, and one of the big findings is that while most brands know there are costs associated with fraud, only about one-third (32%) have earmarked securing their email channel as a top priority. This, despite the fact that on average large businesses (10,000+ employees) are spending more than $3 trillion each year to fight phishing, and that email read rates drop by at least 18% after a phishing attack.

"The immediate cost of phishing is staggering, but the bigger impact comes from loss of trust," said Estelle Derouet, VP Marketing, Email Fraud Protection at Return Path. "If your brand reputation is damaged by email fraud, customers won't open your emails and mailbox providers may not deliver your messages to the inbox. When that happens, you've lost a revenue opportunity--both now and in the future."

Other interesting findings from the report include:

• 81% of marketers say they would be concerned/very concerned if a malicious email appeared to come from their business
• Google has begun flagging questionable emails - those with failed authentication - with red question marks rather than brand avatars
• Microsoft has instituted a similar marking strategy