Bank fraud can happen anywhere to anyone and Tennessee is no exception. In 2017, CNBC reported that account-takeover fraud was on the rise and could drain a person’s bank account. To do this, someone else sources a bank user’s personal information and uses it to gain access to their account and transfer money. Between 2015 and 2016, this type of fraud increased by 61% and led to $2.3 billion in losses.
The increase stems partially from the pin and new chip technology utilized by credit cards and bank cards. In comparison, taking over someone’s account is just a lot easier to do. It does not require someone to be tech savvy. If they can access a person’s home address, phone number, name and birth date, they may already have enough information. If they somehow got their hands on the person’s SSN and personal email address, the likelihood of a successful takeover increases.
This trend continued into 2018. Forbes reported that credit card fraud was down, but attacks on personal bank accounts were on the rise. Credit card fraud reduced from $8.1 billion in losses in 2017 to $6.4 billion 2018. In most of these instances, the bank took the hit. Now, people who engage in bank fraud are still more focused on account takeover, but also new account fraud. One other surprising development is that the number of people targeted by someone they knew increased from 7% to 15%.
Because of this, more consumers now rely on credit monitoring to keep an eye out for suspicious activity on their accounts. However, even this method offers reactive rather than proactive protection.