David Lerner Associates: Fighting Fraud And Identity Theft with New Technology
US consumers who shop with credit and debit cards are increasingly vulnerable to having their private information hacked by private data breaches at companies large and small. As more people use plastic – whether in brick and mortar stores or online – criminals have gotten savvier. In 2013 roughly 1 in 3 people who received a data breach notification letter from their card-holding financial institution were victims of identity fraud. That’s nearly 13 million people. This ratio has worsened from 1 in 4 in 2013 and 1 in 5 in 2011.
Identity theft is a nuisance at best, and a major headache at worst, requiring time and effort by consumers to right their accounts and monitor their statements on an ongoing basis. Even worse, consumers – particularly debit card holders – might be on the hook for losses that result from unauthorized purchases.
Retailers are finally stepping up their game. The United States in in the process of replacing its current ‘swipe and sign’ card technology with a more secure technology called EMV, which is short for Europay Mastercard and Visa. Currently the magnetic strip on the back of your credit or debit card contains data that is used for every transaction, so if your card information is stolen it can be used again and again.
With EMV cards are embedded with a computer chip that generated a unique authenticator code for each transaction, so if your card information is hacked it can’t be used again. It’s a “one and done” scenario. Most developed countries have been using this technology for years, but any retailers in the US were unwilling to shoulder the costs – until now.
In 2015 many large retailers will switch to the new EMV technology by installing new terminals designed to read the new chip-embedded payment cards. And, along with EMV, more advanced encryption technology is on the horizon that will increase security for online transactions and payment made with smartphones.
In fact, new mobile payment options like Apple Pay and Google Wallet could eventually make paying with plastic obsolete. It will be interesting to see how these technologies play out. AS retailer get tech-savvy it might be you and your wallet – 1, Hackers – 0
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.
Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.