As customers increasingly choose to shop, share, bank, and view accounts online, they have become more savvy about security. However, concerns about identity theft and fraud still keep many website visitors from completing, or starting, their transactions online. They need to be reassured that the confidential information that they share will be protected from malicious activity.

Online Growth Slowed by Lack of TrustToday, more people have access to the Internet and spend more time online than ever before. Financial industry experts predict that online banking, and other accounts, will become the primary customer touch-point over the next decade. As Internet adoption continues to grow and Web browsing becomes more common on mobile devices, businesses have the opportunity to tap new markets with online sales and account-based services. However, reluctance to conduct transactions online remains due to concerns about protecting confidential information. Even though identity theft occurs more often offline than online, many Internet users are nonetheless extremely wary of identity theft. On the Web, the impact of this doubt is easy to measure:

• Abandoned shopping carts add up to lost sales and missed revenue.
• Click-through tracking shows that potential customers reach enrollment forms, but do not complete them.
• Search analytics and alerts show how brands and company names are hijacked to lure customers away from legitimate sites.

Internet scams have become more coordinated and sophisticated, eroding the trust that is essential to online business. In the second half of 2013 the Anti-Phishing Working Group reported an average of 305 brands hijacked each month, with September having the highest monthly incidence at 355.1.

Phishing schemes use emails and websites that appear legitimate to trick visitors into sharing personal information. SSL stripping, a type of man-in-the-middle attack, redirects users to "secure" websites that are fake (i.e., some security measures have been taken, and are displayed, but the website is not really the one the visitor believes they are visiting). These types of attacks often target webmail applications, secure sites, and intranets.

The SolutionExtended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates can be a key factor in helping increase customer confidence during online business transactions. More confidence can mean more conversions for customers with EV SSL certificates. GeoTrust True Business ID with EV turns address bars green in high-security browsers for an extra layer of website security that customers can see and trust.