As the holiday shopping season approaches and in the wake of President Obama to require government-issued credit and debit cards to be equipped with new chip and PIN technology designed to combat fraud, the findings of a new Gallup poll underscore the urgent need to take action to protect American consumers from the growing risks of identity theft.
The poll found that Americans are deeply concerned about cybercrime, and considering recent data breaches at some of the most well-known retail chains and banks, it's no surprise that fears are rising among consumers.
In fact, hacking ranked as a top concern among survey respondents, far surpassing other crimes respondents were asked about. Gallup found that 69% of respondents said that having their credit card information stolen by hackers was a frequent or occasional concern for them.
More than one in four Americans surveyed said they have had a credit card stolen by hackers in the past year, making it the most common form of crime they have experienced among the nine crimes included in the survey. The high frequency of this crime is a function of both the ever-increasing sophistication of hackers and the outdated, easily hackable technology of credit cards issued by banks and corporations.
American consumers face growing threats to their financial security that are more widespread and sophisticated than ever before. The pervasiveness of hacking and the lack of technological security have made every American a potential victim. The United States must upgrade its otherwise vulnerable credit card security system and implement chip and PIN technology.
In this context, President Obama's executive order is a step in the right direction, but unless the banking and credit card industry takes similar steps, consumers will continue to be exposed to the growing threat of identity theft.
Hackers will undoubtedly continue to seek new methods of attack, and that means the United States must take serious action to protect consumers and the economy. American banks and credit card issuers should also take note of the survey data and take its results as a wake-up call to invest in and implement security regulations, such as chip and PIN technology.
