Equifax Identity Theft Data Poses Risk for Retailers and Shoppers This Holiday Season
December 06 2018 - 8:13AM
Business Wire
Intellicheck (NYSE AMERICAN: IDN) President and CEO Bryan Lewis
warns that the personally identifiable data stolen during the
Equifax breach is going to be a problem this holiday season with
fraudsters poised to take advantage of high-volume consumer
shopping.
“In data breach scenarios like the one we saw with Equifax,
fraudsters typically wait up to 18 months before using the
personally identifiable information they’ve stolen. Based on when
that breach occurred, we expect this to be a very dangerous holiday
shopping season as the data in hackers’ hands from the Equifax
breach should be hitting the market now, just as the holiday
shopping season is in full swing. The timing couldn’t be worse for
retailers and holiday shoppers,” Lewis explained.
There were 145 million names, social security numbers and dates
of birth compromised during the Equifax breach in July of last
year. But, it’s not just the Equifax breach. Javelin Strategy and
Research puts the total value of identity theft at nearly $17
billion dollars last year. On average, an identity was stolen every
1.88 seconds in the US in 2017. More than 57 million records have
been exposed thus far this year according to The Identity Theft
Resource Center.
Lewis noted that fraudsters know that holiday shopping means
retailers are seeing a larger volume of transactions and new
account openings as well as increased buy on line pick-up in store
purchases. They also see opportunities because they know that
retailers experience a higher volume of returns during and after
the holiday shopping season. At the same time, consumers are making
a larger number of purchases than they would normally. These
factors give the advantage to identity thieves.
Lewis urged consumers to be alert when they are making their
purchases. “Credit cards are a better payment option than a debit
card because money is not being taken out of your bank account that
can be tied up for a length of time while you go through the
dispute process. Consumers should also be vigilant after the fact
by watching their account statements to be sure charges are valid,”
he said. He also advised consumers to be careful about online
purchases and suggested limiting shopping to sites that offer
payment security features. Additionally, he recommended that
shoppers avoid clicking on links in emails without confirming the
sender is legitimate.
The identification authentication expert also offered advice to
retailers. “It’s never too late to act. You need to put a
technology solution in place to prevent the use of fraudulently
obtained data. Protection measures can quickly and easily be put
into place that can be simply integrated at the point-of-sale as
well as on mobile devices including smartphones and tablets.”
Lewis said retailers should look at a technology solution that
provides a proven track record for accuracy, is inexpensive and
effortless for the business to adopt and deploy and is easy for
their employees to use, while providing a frictionless customer
experience.
About Intellicheck NYSE American: IDN Intellicheck is a
trusted industry leader in technology solutions that provide
real-time identification authentication and age verification. We
make it possible for our clients to enhance safety and awareness,
increase revenues, improve customer service, and increase
operational efficiencies. Founded in 1994, Intellicheck has grown
to serve dozens of Fortune 500 companies including retail and
financial industry clients, police departments, national defense
clients at agencies, major seaports, and military bases, and
diverse state and federal government agencies. For more information
on Intellicheck, visit http://www.intellicheck.com/ and follow
Intellicheck on Twitter @IntellicheckIDN, on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/intellicheckidn/, on Instagram
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