CompareCards have conducted a survey for the third year in a row in August 2020 following the massive data breach from Equifax four years ago. Only thirty-three percent of Americans have checked their credit reports in the past year. This is a concern since there have been an increase in credit card fraud attempts during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019 39% checked their reports and in 2018, just 37%. It is most crucial to be checking your reports at this time because it has never been easier. For the past four months until April 2021, consumers are able to check their credit reports for free once week, instead of just once a year through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Consumers aged 75 and older are at most risk for credit card fraud and only 20% of this age group has reviewed their credit report in the last year. Cardholders are taking less action to prevent identity theft. Here are some steps to take to prevent identity theft:

• Review online banking and credit cards often

• Check your credit score

• Activate alerts via text, email, etc to inform you when changes are made

• Review your credit report

• Change passwords to your banking and credit card sites

• Change the PIN on your ATM card

From a group of the surveyed consumers, 41% of cardholders were unaware that they had the option to check their credit report for free weekly due to the pandemic. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed admitted that they did not plan to take advantage of this free allowance. Checking your credit report every week isn’t necessary but checking it once a month will put your mind at ease and keep you up to date and it won’t do any harm. Once you take a look at the reports one or two times, it will give you a good idea of what it looks like and you will have an easier time finding mistakes and errors, if they were to occur. Consumers who don’t have a credit card or a loan are more likely to feel that they do not need to review their reports as often. There is too much fraud out there to not keep tabs on your file. 

Only half of credit or debit cardholders check their credit score each month and a third of those admit that they do not always review their card or bank statements to ensure accuracy. Women are dropping the ball on checking their reports with only 41% doing so monthly as opposed to men at 59%. Breaking down to different generations, Gen Xer’s are best about checking their scores followed by Millenials. 

The fatigue of the pandemic may be distracting from the focus of identity theft. There has been an economic downturn and rampant job loss which is understandable why some consumers may be more focused on other areas of their personal and professional lives than they are of identity theft. More people are at home more often, so instead of binging out on Netflix during downtimes, we could be keeping up to date on identity theft. 

Most people are hesitant about providing their personal information online but nearly 47% of people with a credit or debit card provided their entire social security number in an online form in the past month according to the survey. In 2019 it was 40%. This increase may have occurred due fluctuations in the job market and people applying for unemployment and onboarding at new jobs online. Even providing a partial SSN causes concern. This puts consumers more at risk for identity theft, which makes checking your reports and statements a priority. 

Seventy percent of cardholders have reported using the “sign in with “Facebook” feature to sign up or log in to various websites. While this is a convenience, using your Facebook account to log into other multiply accounts can be problematic. There has been security concerns about Facebook’s ability to protect personal data. The information you are giving has an increased risk of being exposed which is a major target for hackers. Facebook is a signal site that contains information about you that are useful to hackers. Facebook has a past for not keeping data safe so it is important to proceed with caution when you login to other accounts or webpages. 

Nearly half of cardholders (47%) were victims of a data breach within the last year and 14% of them experienced this harm more than once. Consumers may want to take stronger steps to protect their identity such as:

• Freezing your credit- With a credit freeze, or security freeze, you can restrict access to your credit reports and prevent others from opening new credit-related accounts with your information. You will still have access to your credit reports during the freeze and your credit score will not be affected.

• Sign up for alerts - Many companies are on the market to provide services that monitor for identity theft as well as keeping an eye out for Social Security number scanning. 

• Create safer digital habits - You can set calendar reminders to change important passwords often and learn to recognize the signs of phishing emails and other online scams. It is important to remain cautious when providing personal and financial information online and you may even want to invest in security software for electronic devices. 

Most of all it is important to realize that you, as a consumer, have your financial health and security in your own hands. Nobody cares as much about your credit and money as much as you do. It is vital that you protect your personal information and finances because no one else can do it for you.