Less than 10% of identity thefts occur on the Internet
We often get calls from people who wish to make a phone order because they do not feel safe about ordering online. It’s their right, and we are happy to take their order.
When I hear “I don’t like to enter my credit card number on the internet”, I often think “but you don’t mind giving it out to a stranger over the phone”. Nobody ever ask what we actually do with their number after writing it down. Well, I will tell you now: we shred it, right away. We do not keep any credit card number in a database or on paper. Because we know that most identity thefts still occur offline.
While keylogging software, phishing e-mails that impersonate official bank messages and hackers who break into customer databases may dominate headlines, more than 90% of identity fraud starts off conventionally, with stolen bank statements, misplaced passwords or other similar means, according to Javelin Strategy & Research.
“An insignificant portion of identity fraud actually starts with the Internet,” said James Van Dyke, president of Javelin, who pointed out that many firms still rely on simple security questions such as one’s mother’s maiden name. “The Internet always grabs the headlines, but it is individuals who are close to the victims, such as family and friends, that are doing most of it,” he said.
Sources: Computerworld, Michelle Blanc, Vincent Gautrais