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According to a report in the New York Times, Javelin Strategy and Research released an annual survey showing a sharp reduction in incidents of identity theft.  In fact, their findings show a 28% decrease in the number of people who were victims of the crime in 2010 from 2009.  11 million people were victims in 2009 and just over 8 million were victims in 2010, which is the lowest number of incidents since Javelin started conducting their surveys in 2003.

So has identity theft be less of an issue?  “Absolutely not”, says Brian McGinley, SVP of Data Risk Management at Identity Theft 911.  “It’s not time to let down our guard.  It’s not time to breath a sigh of relief.” Identity theft was the number oneplaint to the Federal Trademission in 2009, and by a long shot.  21% of theirplaints were specific to identity theft.  The closest to identity theft was “debt collectors” at just 9%.  The FTC has not released their 2010 consumerplaint statistics so it’s too early to tell whether or not Javelin’s findings are further confirmed with a reduction in consumerplaints to the FTC.  Theirplaint numbers are due out in the next few weeks.

The Javelin findings also quantified the out of pocket losses for a fraud victim at $631 in 2010.  This is an increase of 60% from the 2009 figure of $387.  Javelin attributes the higher dollar amount to an increase in new account fraud, also called “true name” fraud.  This makes perfect sense as the cost involved with addressing the theft of an existing credit card is much less than the cost involved with addressing fraud on multiple new accounts.

Unfortunately, the news isn’t all positive.  Family and friends fraud, which is fraud perpetrated by someone close to you, increased 7% in 2010 over 2009.  Family and friends fraud is often the hardest to prevent because of their unusual access to personal information as well as the trust you place in them.

What’s an effective way for consumers to protect themselves from bing victims of identity theft?  According to McGinley, “Checking financial accounts.  Fraud and information issues are all about the money.  Limit the availability of your name, address, Social Security Number and Date of Birth, especially its accessibility from a single source.  Also, identity thieves are using social networks as a way to backfill holes of missing consumer information.”

Some MBNA customers are about to have their credit card cancelled after their details fell into the hands of fraudsters.

Cards will become inactive on February 17, but customers may have to wait up to 11 days for a replacement card and Pin.

MBNA, which has five million British customers and is part of Bank of America, refuses to say how many customers are affected, but has written to cardholders this week.

Experts point out the move could be particularly inconvenient if the customer is on holiday and does not realise their card is about to be cancelled.

In a further headache, those affected must re-register their new card for online banking and notify any companies that take payments from their card.

MBNA insists that only card numbers not personal information such as names and addresses may have been compromised and the replacement cards are being issued as a precautionary measure.

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If you were among the handful of Wells Fargo impacted by uncooperative ATMs this past week within their network, your ATM fees will be reimbursed if you turned to an out-of-network ATM. After its 12,000 ATMs crashed Monday and lasted well into the evening, the Bank blamed a systems issue. Fees reimburse includes any fee Wells Fargo/Wachovia or another bank may have assessed for using an out-of-network machine, plus the fee charged by the out-of-network ATM. Wells Fargo charges $2.50 for withdrawals on its accounts made at alternative ATMs, and the bank or other entity that owns the alternate ATM often charges its own fee of $2 or more.

If you own a Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express, the odds are good that you book frequent flights with Delta. After all, you earn free miles with every purchase that you make with these cards. The SkyMiles cards are typical American Express products: They offer generous rewards programs and several perks.

When it comes to redeeming the points you earn with these cards, though, there’s a problem. And it’s not the fault of American Express.

You can blame this one on Delta. Search frequent flier forums across the Internet and you’ll read the same verdict: Delta’s Award Redemption Calendar is nearly impossible to use.

If you want to see just how frustrating the center is for users, just visit this thread at the flyertalk forum. In it, a user discusses in detail how consumers can find low-tier rewards when they’re redeeming their points. The probl

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While many scam artists are out there waiting for their next victims, shopping online doesnt have to be scary. Stay ahead of the curve by doing your online shopping with a temporary credit card. Temporary credit cards, also known as throwaway cards or virtual credit cards, can help protect you from identity theft and fraudulent use of your credit cards. Temporary cards are essentially credit card numbers generated by the issuing bank that are attached to your account but may expire immediately after use or according to other similar terms.

When Is a Good Time to Use a Virtual Credit Card?

Different card issuers offer different kinds of temporary cards or alternatives, so it is best to do some research before selecting your plan of action. You may benefit from using a virtual credit card when you are shopping online at a merchant that is not as well known as shops like eBay and Amazon.

What Is an Example of a Temporary Credit Card?

Bank of America offers ShopSafe to cardholders.

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When consumers begin receiving their notices pursuant to the new Risk Based Pricing rules that went live on January 1, 2011 they will receive one of two notices.  The first is the Risk Based Pricing notice that simply states that the creditor uses risk based pricing and that they didn’t get terms as favorable as others have gotten.  The second notice is the Score Disclosure Notice, whiches with the score used to make the decision.  I wrote about this at length here.

Here’s something to consider when you begin receiving these notices…the credit reports that you can claim for free aren’t exactly the same.  First off, both notices contain “get your credit report here” language, but that’s where the similarities end.

The credit report that you’re directed to by the Risk Based Pricing noticees directly from the credit bureau where the data was purchased by the lender.  And, most importantly, that report does NOT count against your allocation of free credit reports as provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The credit report that you’re directed to by the Credit Score Disclosure noticees from Annualcreditreport.  And, that one DOES count against your allocation of free credit reports as provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Keep that in mind when/if you start getting letters from your letter that notify you of your credit score.