The Federal Trade Commission has released a report with recommendations for combating identity theft, which included a call for establishing standards for data brokers and companies that compile and maintain consumer data.
It also recommended that standards be established to provide for notification of consumers when a data breach occurs that poses a significant risk of identity theft. The report described data authentication as a tool for combating identify theft.
“Efforts to facilitate the development of better ways to authenticate consumers without burdening consumers or businesses — for example, multi-factor authentication or layered security — would go a long way toward preventing criminals from profiting from identity theft,” the report said.
Among the report’s findings were statistics from surveys indicating that 30% to 48% of consumers said they shop less online or not at all because they fear their financial information might be stolen.
“Consumers’ fears of becoming identity theft victims may harm our digital economy. Although no studies have correlated these attitudes with actual online buying habits, these surveys indicate that security concerns likely inhibit some commercial use of the Internet,” the report stated.
It recommended creation of a National Identity Theft Law Enforcement Center and other changes in law enforcement to attack what the report described as a growing problem.
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