Are you one of the 12.7 million people who found themselves as a victim of identity fraud in 2014? No. Phew! It’s easy to think you’re in the clear. Actually the opposite can be true. 2014 saw a significant amount of data breaches, most notably from retailers Neiman Marcus, Home Depot, Staples and Michael’s, as well as financial institution JPMorgan Chase. Consumers whose credit or debit cards were breached in the past year were nearly 3x more likely to be an identity fraud victim. So if you receive a letter that your information was exposed in a data breach, take it serious! Javelin Strategy & Research (@JavelinStrategy) study 2015 Identity Fraud Study found that fraudsters stole $16 billion from 12.7 million U.S. consumers in 2014. With a new identity fraud victim every two seconds, there is still significant risk to consumers, particularly students. Fraudster can use your information to open a new account in your name and start racking up large charges or even finance a car. This type of fraud can take consumers up to 1 year to discover this new account. This type of fraud -- new account fraud – although reached record low, continues to be one of the most damaging types of fraud. To reduce your chance of becoming a victim of identity fraud, checkout out www.idsafety.net for 18 question quiz and checklist for consumers for fraud prevention. To view the full report: www.javelinstrategy.com/brochure/347