The FINANCIAL -- Accertify, a leading fraud prevention and risk management provider, recently commissioned a study of "connected" U.S. adults -- or those with access to both a smartphone and a web-enabled computer -- to learn more about how consumers perceive and are affected by online fraud, according to American Express.

With consumers continuing to focus on the security of online transactions, the bottom line is that an ineffective fraud prevention program is not only bad business, it's bad for business.

The survey, commissioned by Accertify, an American Express company, found that consumers will change their shopping behavior if they have a negative experience with a fraud protection system. In addition, the survey found that consumers feel more vulnerable to fraud online than when conducting transactions in-person. Eighty-eight percent of respondents regularly make a purchase or conduct a financial transaction online, and, nearly two in three (63%) consumers believe that more fraud occurs when conducting transactions online than in-person.

When merchants look for an effective fraud prevention solution, they quickly realize that one size does not fit all. Many consumers report encounters with fraud solutions that are either too lax or overly restrictive. More than a quarter of genuine consumers (28%) have encountered a fraud protection system that unnecessarily delayed or denied their transaction, the survey found.

These sorts of problems can actually cause the consumer to change their shopping behavior. Among consumers who have experienced transaction delay or denial, one in three respondents (35%) said they would penalize the business responsible for an improperly delayed or denied transaction by moving or considering moving their business to a competitor, and 11% of consumers immediately flee for competitors.

In addition, the degree of frustration that consumers voice over transaction delay and denial is severe. More than one in four (27%) consumers who experienced delay or denial find that having a legitimate transaction denied is even more frustrating than a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

As more commerce continues to move online, understanding consumers' security concerns and preferences relating to transacting online will be crucial in maintaining a competitive edge. According to the survey, consumers today are conducting the most online transactions in the retail industry (57%), followed by banking and finance (51%), travel (27%), music and movie downloads (24%), and entertainment industries (18%).

The Accertify survey also found that consumers are leery of transacting online using newer popular devices, such as tablets and smartphones. In fact, by large margins, online shoppers find computers more trustworthy than tablets or smartphones when making online purchases: 81% of respondents perceive their computer to be the most secure device for online shopping whereas only 7% trust their smartphone and 3% trust their tablets.

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