The Green Sheet Online Edition
March 3, 2013 • 13:03:01
Research Rundown
Identity fraud hits $21 billion
The 2013 Identity Fraud Report by Javelin Strategy & Research revealed 12.6 million Americans became victims of identity fraud in 2012, resulting in a three-year high of $21 billion being stolen, an amount still significantly below the all-time record of $47 billion tracked in 2004. For the report, 5,249 U.S. consumers were surveyed about the impacts of fraud, areas where progress has been made and the vulnerabilities that remain prevalent today. Javelin defines identity fraud as "the unauthorized use of another person's personal information to achieve illicit financial gain," which can include using stolen payment card account information to make fraudulent purchases, to seize control of existing accounts or to open new accounts.
Following are highlights from the report's findings:
- One in four data breach notification recipients became an identity fraud victim in 2012.
- One identity fraud incident occurs every three seconds.
- 48 days is the average length of time fraudsters misuse consumer information.
- 6 percent of data breach incidents included theft of Social Security numbers.
- 10 percent of incidents included accessing such personal information as bank logins, user names and passwords.
- 15 percent of all fraud victims said they would avoid smaller online merchants in the future.
"Consumers and institutions are now starting to act as partners - detecting and stopping fraud faster than ever before," said Jim Van Dyke, Chief Executive Officer at Javelin. "But fraudsters are acting quicker than ever before and victimizing more consumers." Given the strong correlation between data breach incidents and subsequent identity fraud activity, Javelin's report offers tips for fraud prevention, detection and resolution. "Consumers must take data breach notifications more seriously and maintain vigilance to safeguard personal information, especially Social Security numbers," Van Dyke said.
www.javelinstrategy.com/research.
Much to do about mobile empowerment
Following are findings from a mobile payments benchmark study by Retail Systems Research LLC, which explored merchant readiness in dealing with mobile-informed consumers:
The Impact of Mobile in Retail: Benchmark 2012-13
Local currency essential to e-commerce
A white paper titled Local Currency Pricing for eCommerce - Increasing Online Sales by Implementing a Global Pricing Strategy, which was commissioned by multicurrency settlement provider E4X, surveyed 30,000 global online shoppers and found that 92.2 percent of respondents preferred to make purchases on websites that offer product pricing in their local currencies; 33 percent would likely abandon a purchase if pricing was only available in U.S. dollars.
Online boom in China
Research and Markets' 36-page report China's E-Commerce Landscape: China's E-Commerce Transaction Volume Will Reach US$1.3 Trillion by the End of 2012 provides a road map for e-commerce in China that includes strategies for reaching consumers outside major cities. The report also covers forecasted transaction volume, changing distribution of e-commerce segments, key players in business-to-consumer and person-to-person e-commerce, and online shopper demographics.
Top 20 mobile wallets
A Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group paper, Mobile Wallet Reality Check: How Will You Stay Top of Wallet?, ranked 20 mobile wallets based on payment capabilities and customer experience and predicted no one technology will prevail. "Wallets that see the highest level of adoption will be those that create an intuitive experience while mitigating consumer concerns about privacy and identity theft," said Peter Olynick, GC Card & Payments Practice Leader.
Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.
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