Identity theft, fraud cost consumers more than $16 billion

[McFurd]

CNBC - Kelli B. Grant - It's time to keep an eagle eye on your finances. Some 15.4 million consumers were victims of identity theft or fraud last year, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. That's up 16 percent from 2015, and the highest figure recorded since the firm began tracking fraud instances in 2004. "All of the underlying types of fraud we measure are up," said Al Pascual, a senior vice president and research director for Javelin. Card-not-present fraud — transactions made online or via phone where the cardholder does not need to present the physical card to complete the purchase — jumped the most, increasing 40 percent compared to 2015. Account takeover fraud — where thieves used stolen login information to access a consumer's accounts — rose 31 percent, and instances where fraudsters opened new accounts in a consumer's name were up 20 percent. In all, thieves stole $16 billion, the report found — nearly $1 billion more than in 2015. Read more @ http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/01/consumer ... -year.html