5.  3rd – Party Point of Sale (POS) Skimming - 32% of people surveyed have been victims of POS Skimming.  This happens when a thief puts a phony credit card swiper at a gas station or an employee in a bar or restaurant uses a small hand held device to steal your credit card information.  Even large retail giants aren’t safe!  Recently, customers of Michael’s arts and crafts stores found that thieves were able to set up a pin pad skimming device that retrieved their credit card AND pin numbers.

4.  ACH/Wire (Account Takeover) - 37% have been a victim of ACH or wire fraud.  ACH fraud, unfortunately, is very easy to execute. All is needed is your account number and a bank routing number to execute the fraud. In the simplest form, the fraudster will use your bank account and routing numbers to initiate payments for purchases or to pay debt by giving these numbers to the desired vendor.  This usually happens when someone is fooled into believing they are going to be wired in money, just to find their bank account has been drained.

3. Phishing - 48% of respondents have fallen for a phishing scam.  Phishing refers to online scams that trick consumers into revealing personal information, such as check and credit card account numbers, Social Security numbers, or bank account passwords. Most commonly, phishers target unsuspecting users with fake Internet sites or email messages that look startlingly similar to the real thing.

2.  Check - 63% have been victimized by check fraud.  Maybe you left your checkbook behind at a retail location and didn’t notice a check was missing from the back.  Maybe before closing out their register for the night, an employee takes a moment to copy down all your personal information provided on your check (even your driver’s license number), makes note of your signature and goes home and creates a check on his computer.  Fraudsters will even steal your payments out of your mailbox!

1.  Credit/Debit Card - It probably comes as no surprise that the #1 type of fraud is credit and debit card, but the number of victims is astounding – 82%!  Part of the reason is that credit and debit card fraud is the easiest type of fraud to commit.  Your name and credit card number can be stolen off a forgotten receipt, or can be obtained by a fraudster stealing your credit card statement out of your mailbox.  Another way credit card fraud can be perpetrated on you is through those pre-approved credit card offers you receive through the mail.  By the time you receive your statement, a fraudster will already have charged thousands of dollars in your name!

source:  Information Security Media Group