It is a long-established fact that fraudsters follow the path of least resistance.  Recent statistics back this up.

CardNotPresent points out that according to the Card Fraud Control Benchmark Study from Auriemma Consulting Group, counterfeit card fraud dropped by 18% in the first quarter, largely due to the continuing rollout of EMV which requires multifactor authentication.  The same report notes that card-not-present fraud has overtaken counterfeit as a category, largely due to EMV but also attributable to the overall increase in ecommerce transactions, which are inherently less secure.

Separately, Javelin’s 2016 Idendity Fraud Study concluded that counterfeiting difficulties resulting from EMV adoption is related to a doubling of new account fraud from identify theft.   The number of victims has increased significantly, although the dollar amount per incident is decreasing.  Still, more than $112 billion has been lost to identity fraud in the last six years.

The study found that consumers who do not use transaction monitoring, email alerts, credit freezes and other tools offered by card issuers are likely to suffer greater damage:  identity theft episodes last 75% longer before detection and represent 185% greater overall monetary impact.

 

 

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