While American shoppers say they are very concerned about the safety of their personal information following the massive security breach at Target, many aren’t taking steps to ensure their data is secure. Just 37 percent of surveyed consumers have tried to use cash for purchases rather than pay with plastic, and only 41 percent have checked their credit reports. Even fewer have changed their online passwords at retailers’ websites, requested new credit or debit card numbers, or signed up for a credit monitoring service.
33 percent of terrorism attacks in 2013 affected the retail sector, and 18 percent of attacks took place on the transportation sector. Retail environments, such as public markets, remain vulnerable to attack, as seen in the Kenyan mall shooting.
Merchandise returns in 2013 cost U.S. retailers more than $267 billion in lost sales, and retail fraud and abuse accounted for $9.1 billion to $16.3 billion in the United States, an increase of 2.6 percent from 2012, according to The Retail Equation’s 2013 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry report.
The Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report reveals that threats designed to take advantage of users’ trust in systems, applications and personal networks have reached startling levels.
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