Search Results
Working Paper
Out of sight, out of mind: consumer reaction to news on data breaches and identity theft
We use the 2012 South Carolina Department of Revenue data breach to study how data breaches and news coverage about them affect consumers? take-up of fraud protections. In this instance, we find that a remarkably large share of consumers who were directly affected by the breach acquired fraud protection services immediately after the breach. In contrast, the response of consumers who were not directly exposed to the breach, but who were exposed to news about it, was negligible. Even among consumers directly exposed to the data breach, the incremental effect of additional news about the breach ...
Discussion Paper
Identity theft: where do we go from here?
The identity theft forum sponsored by the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Gartner Fellows Program brought together a broad range of stakeholders to discuss the important issue of identity theft. Participants from the financial services and merchant industries, Internet service and technology providers, and regulatory and law enforcement agencies examined issues faced by consumers, merchants, and banks in fighting this financial crime. Discussants shared methodologies used to combat this crime and explored opportunities for coordination in searching for ...
Discussion Paper
Identity theft: do definitions still matter?
Despite a statutory definition of identity theft, there is a continuing debate on whether differences among the financial frauds associated with identity theft warrant further distinction and treatment, not only by lenders and financial institutions but also by consumers and regulatory and law enforcement agencies. In this Discussion Paper, Julia S. Cheney examines four types of financial fraud ? fictitious identity fraud, payment card fraud, account takeover fraud, and true name fraud ? that fall under the legal term identity theft to better understand how criminal behavior patterns, risks ...
Journal Article
Risks of identity theft: Can the market protect the payment system?
Identity theft has been a feature of financial markets for as long as alternatives have existed to cash transactions. But identity theft has recently occurred on a much larger scale. Data breaches often involve the apparent loss or acknowledged theft of the personal identifying information of thousands--or millions--of people. ; Identity theft poses risks, not only to individuals, but to the integrity and efficiency of the payment system--the policies, procedures, and technology that transfer information for authenticating and settling payments among participants. Identity theft can cause a ...
Journal Article
Credit cards' benefits outweigh chance of ID theft
Conference Paper
Credit and identity theft
The quintessential crime of the information age is identity theft, the malicious use of personal identifying data. In this paper, the authors present a model of identities and their use in credit transactions. The incidence of identity theft represents a tradeoff between a desire to avoid costly and/or invasive monitoring of individuals on the one hand, and the need to control transaction fraud on the other. The results suggest that technological advances will not eliminate this tradeoff.
Journal Article
Identity theft
Discussion Paper
Legislative responses to data breaches and information security failures
On July 23, 2008, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia hosted a workshop to discuss federal and state legislative responses to data breaches. The workshop addressed several laws and legislative initiatives designed to create greater safeguards for personal consumer information frequently targeted by data thieves and often subject to the failures of information security protocols. Diane Slifer, J.D., M.B.A., who has frequently presented at forums on data security and has represented clients in matters related to data breaches, led the workshop. Slifer examined ...