Imagine that a government report finds that 7% of U.S. passports in use today are counterfeits. An emergency task force would be assembled to find a quick and resolute solution to this gross offense. Yet, every year more than 7% of the U.S. adult population falls victim of identity theft—more …

A handful of arcane mathematicians way back in the 18th and 19th centuries aspired to invent a useless mathematical theory that would shine for its beauty alone, unstained by practical applications. It was called number theory, and it stood useless and shining until late in the 20th Century, when this …

As online shopping continues to grow, consumer anxiety about the security of the payment card credentials on e-commerce sites remains a top concern. Some 48% of consumers want more assurances about their online shopping security, finds a survey released Wednesday by Tender Armor. The survey of more than 1,000 consumers, …

Data breaches that compromised credit and debit card information were constantly in the news in 2015, but the number of cards affected is way down from the totals for 2014 and 2013, according to a nonprofit that monitors breaches. The San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center reports that as of …

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee on Tuesday afternoon was scheduled to consider a data-security bill that is drawing fire from merchant trade groups and consumer advocates, but which has the support of the American Bankers Association. H.R. 2205, the Data Security Act of 2015, was introduced last …

It’s more critical than ever that online merchants leverage payments to satisfy shoppers’ expectations. From the checkout experience to social media, here’s a quintet of ways to make that happen. Holiday sales hit a record high this past season, when Americans spent $53.3 billion online, according to a recent study …

By Paul Schaus Considering new regulations on general-purpose prepaid cards, is it worth it for banks to still be in the business? The answer is: Maybe not. If banks have enough customers who are underbanked or unbanked, as well people just on a tight budget clamoring for prepaid cards, prepaid …

By Jim Daly Target Corp.’s $10 million settlement of a consumer class action stemming from its late-2013 data breach is significant not only because of its size, but also because it signals that courts are becoming more attentive to the harm consumers suffer from data breaches even if the payment …

President Barack Obama last month called for a national data-breach notification law to replace the existing patchwork of state notification rules. If current trends continue, there will be plenty of breaches to report. The number of credit and debit cards compromised in data breaches hit 64.4 million in 2014, up …

The number of credit and debit cards compromised in data breaches hit 64.4 million in 2014, up 38% from 46.6 million in 2013, according to preliminary figures from the Identity Theft Resource Center, a San Diego-based non-profit that tracks breaches. Some 133 of 2014’s breaches involved payment cards, up 39% …