Illegal online data soars over 300%

illegal online data soars over 300The volume of illegally traded information online has rocketed by more than 300% since 2012 with more than 110 million pieces of data bought and sold by criminals so far in this year alone.
That is the chilling conclusion of a new independent study commissioned by Experian using web monitoring technology – which monitors the web to help people quickly detect ID theft, loss or disclosure of vital personal and financial information – and showed an increase of 40% in 2014 so far.
Some 96.5% of the illegally traded data consists of login credentials, username and password combinations. Online accounts can give identity fraudsters access to huge amounts of information, such as where consumers bank or shop, linked accounts which may have passwords saved automatically and all the personal information they may have shared over email. Compromised email accounts also contain personal contact lists that in turn could be targeted by these fraudsters.
With the remaining data consisting primarily of passport details and payment card details (card number, expiry date and the three-digit security code, Experian says the challenge of protecting online accounts is clear.
The findings come despite signs that Britain is becoming increasingly web-savvy. Separate research commissioned by Experian among 2,000 adults has discovered that: The average Briton now has 19 different online accounts (27% lower than 2012); 25 to 34 year olds are the most prolific, with 28 accounts each (30% lower than 2012); and just one in 20 sign up to six or more new online accounts each month, compared to one in five in 2012.
People are also closing down the accounts that they don’t use, leaving less opportunity for criminals to exploit their online identity. This year, 18% claim to have inactive social media accounts left open, down from 26% in 2012; 10% have inactive e-mail accounts open (down from 18%); and 10% have online retail accounts that are no longer used (21% in 2012).
But despite some improvements, there are still signs of poor online password behaviour. One in ten Britons use an average of just seven different passwords to keep their information safe; one in 20 use the same log in details for all of their online accounts; ad one in ten Britons never change their passwords.
Experian Consumer Services UK & Ireland managing director Peter Turner said: “These results are startling and combined with the knowledge that we have also seen a 37% increase in those receiving help from the Experian Victims of Fraud team in the last year, it is clear that identity theft and resulting fraud is a real concern.
“Given the number of online services that we all use each and every day, it is so important that we are all vigilant in protecting our information online. While this may seem like a mammoth task, know that companies are using ever more sophisticated technologies to detect and prevent fraud and if we all implement even the basics of online identity protection, we will together make it far more difficult for online criminals to succeed.”

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1 Comment on "Illegal online data soars over 300%"

  1. will this push down consumer’s willingness to consent to marketing? http://t.co/0bX369J290

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