Americans are more worried about identify theft and credit card fraud than ever before. According to market research company Mintel, almost one in two adults (46 percent) worry about having their identity stolen and about being subject to credit card fraud.
They have good reason to worry. A new study from Javelin Strategy & Research, a California-based research firm, reveals that identity fraud shot up last year from 9.9 million to 11.1 million. This 12% increase is paralleled by a 12.5% rise in the total amount siphoned from victims: in 2009, identity thieves made away with a whopping $54 billion.
Credit card fraud has pushed its way to the top of the list of rising forms of identity theft and, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, it lies behind 75 percent of identity theft crime cases.
“The 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report shows that fraud increased for the second straight year and is at the highest rate since Javelin began this report in 2003,” said James Van Dyke, president and founder, Javelin Strategy & Research.
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. “Consumers are getting more aggressive in monitoring, detecting and preventing fraud with the help of technology and partnerships with financial institutions, government agencies and resolution services,” Van Dyke adds.
Despite increases in identity fraud, data from Javelin reveals that fraud resolution time-and costs-are dropping and convictions are rising. In 2008, the average resolution took 30 hours; last year that dropped to 21 hours. The average cost to consumers has dropped over $100, and nearly half of all fraud victims now file police reports, leading to double the arrests, triple the prosecutions, and double convictions in 2009.
While it is reassuring to know that victims of identity fraud victims enjoy better protections, the best course of action remains to protect yourself from ever becoming a victim. Here are five steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of credit card fraud or identity theft:
- Protect your paper documents. Both at home and at work, keep personal and financial records safely locked away. Remember that criminals can gain access to your financial information by going through trash, a lost or stolen wallet, or even by “shoulder surfing” (looking over your shoulder at documents you may have in hand or on your desk). Make sure to shred private documents and never put checks in unlocked mailboxes.
- Protect computers against high-tech attacks. Keep updated antivirus, antispyware, and firewall software on all the computers you use. Make sure to safeguard electronic personal and financial records stored on your computer with a password. Guard your Wi-Fi with a unique, hard-to-guess password, and don’t access secure websites using public Wi-Fi. Turn off your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use.
- Keep your personal information private. With the rise of social networking, it’s more and more common for people to casually display their personal information online. Photographs, locations and events to which you subscribe, groups to which you belong, and similar information can all be used by fraudsters to identity you.
- Monitor the security of websites. Never enter credit card or personal information to a website that is not secured. Secure websites feature a padlock symbol and an “s” after the “http” in their address. Double-clicking on the padlock symbol should reveal the SSL certificate. Using a High-security browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8, Firefox 3, Opera 9.5, Safari 3.2, Google Chrome or Flock 2.0, is safest; never alter the security level of the websites accessed.
- Monitor your account activity. Early discovery is your best protection. Check your bank account and credit cards at least once a week through online, mobile, ATM, or touchtone banking. Monitor credit reports and non-credit accounts to keep an eye out for other unauthorized activity. Remember that you are entitled to an annual free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. If you spot any unauthorized activity, contact the corresponding service provider immediately. Quick detection often leads to a swift and thorough resolution.
