List Abuse Is on the Rise Again

Data abuse is a rapidly growing problem in the UK. In all walks of life, in both the private and public sectors, we hear of major security breaches over personal data, and public concern over such breaches is becoming more and more voluble. However, few commentators have highlighted the fact that personal data on the commercial markets is also subject to increasing levels of abuse. As consumers or as business people, we hand over details on ourselves to the organisations we deal with. We also often agree that those details may be used by other third parties. But having extended that trust, we expect it to be reciprocated. We expect that controls will be put in place to prevent us being inundated with direct marketing. And we expect licence restrictions to help ensure that we receive only relevant offers. However, it has become increasingly evident – evidenced by rising levels of abuse – that such controls are not sufficiently stringent.

Our regular report on the abuse of commercially available data from DQM Group aims to highlight the scale of the problem, and to encourage awareness of the problem and its implications so that data owners more universally ensure that the records they release onto the open market are only used strictly within license terms.

The annualised results this year have revealed that list abuse is on the rise again following a major improvement between 2006 and 2007. Following a peak in the number of incidents of list abuse in 2006, it appears that data owners got their act together and improved the policing of list usage by employing the technique of seeding. This led to a major improvement the following year, but list abuse has stated to climb again, if modestly. The annualised figures for 2008 are not quite at the peak of 2006, but if the current trend continues data owners could see misuse of their lists soar past the record high of two years ago.

Misuse of lists reduces response rates and increases consumer dissatisfaction of DM from ‘over marketing’ and use of out of date data. List abusers tend to use older, out-of-date versions of lists, leading to poorer targeting and greater wastage

Worst offenders in 2008, by sector, are Recruitment, Office Equipment, Health & Beauty, Utilities, and Government. Most compliant with license terms are Associations & Societies, Property Services, Travel, Retail Equipment & Services, and Leisure.

Since the start of the decade, list abuse has risen dramatically. Experience of tracking data reveals that much misuse is down to poor processes and systems at the client end once lists are loaded into their CRM systems. However, increasing accessibility and ease of copying data are also major reasons for the growth.

The study’s findings are a major warning signal to data owners not to become complacent in policing their data. In order to maintain the improved standards in 2007, and continue this improvement, lists must continually be monitored and any misuse pursued.

The latest Bellwether report from the IPA reveals that annual marketing budgets were revised down to the greatest extent ever recorded in the survey’s nine-year history. With budgets tightening but the need for new business higher than ever, marketers could be ignoring list licence terms in order to over mail.

List abuse is having a disproportionate affect on recipients’ perceptions in a world where concerns about data privacy and security are being heightened by high-profile data breaches. Data owners need to be wary of becoming complacent following the notable improvement in list licence adherence in 2007. Rigourous policing of lists has to be maintained, especially if marketers are turning to desperate measures in these economically difficult times. If lists continue to experience the renewed rise in abuse charted by the DQM List Abuse Index, then list owners will encounter rising levels of opt-out, and marketers will find it increasingly difficult to obtain good quality data as a result.