Today data theft can occur not only through major data breaches but also through physical data theft. Brian Wallace, Founder, and President, NowSourcing in this article investigates how your information can be stolen and how to better protect from scammers can help you act quickly to better protect your data.
Credit and debit cards have become the most convenient format for carrying money around the world but keeping them and your data safe from theft is still an issue. In fact, in 2018 fraud on credit and debit cards led to almost $28 billion loss. While fraud is still rampant protection against this has also increased. Using new technology to protect your data is helpful but relying on it solely is not advised, instead of adding an additional layer of protection for yourself with ways that you can personally keep your information secure is highly beneficial.
Today, there are two main ways that data can be stolen, through skimming and shimming. Skimmers place a device over a card reader such as a gas pump or ATM so that when a card is inserted the data on the magstripe is then copied. Shimmers use similar tactics but instead, they insert a device into a card reader but this method can only copy limited data. Once the payment card data is collected scammers then use it to create a spoofed card. These spoofed cards are then sold on the dark web. Currently, a single stolen credit or debit card number can sell for $5, that value triples when bank account information is also included.
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In order to prevent devices from being able to read card data chips were added to credit cards. While these types of cards can still be hacked it is much more difficult to collect data off of them in large quantities and so it has become less profitable for scammers. In just three years between 2015 and 2018 merchants that switched to chip readers saw a 76% drop in counterfeit payments and nationwide there was a 49% drop. By last year chip readers and cards had become so popular that 99% of all U.S. payments were made with them. By the end of this year, all brick-and-mortar merchants will be required to use chip transactions otherwise they will be held liable for covering any fraud that results from not using them.
Credit cards are not the only way that personal data can be stolen. Loss and theft of physical items containing sensitive information are also a huge concern. In fact in 2017 20% of data security incidents were due to device theft or loss. Laptop theft alone can cost a business over 8X more money than just the cost of the device since it stores sensitive data such as passwords and account numbers. Preventing physical theft from happening can save thousands of dollars. AI stopping crimeOpens a new window is currently being developed to help prevent theft but it has a long way to go and will have its flaws. For now, physically securing devices or not leaving them unattended and always using a password and securing sensitive data can help. As scammers grow more advanced so do the ways to protect yourself. Find out more about data theftOpens a new window in the following infographic.