Identity thieves were busy during 2014, but a new study estimates that U.S. consumers actually suffered fewer losses than in the past.

According to the 2015 Identity Fraud Study from Javelin Strategy & Research, the number of identity fraud victims decreased slightly last year, dropping by three percent from 2013. All totaled, Javelin estimates 12.7 million U.S. consumers were victimized in identity theft in 2014, compared to 13.1 million the previous year. Total fraud losses fell as well, dropping from $ 18 billion in 2013 to $ 16 billion in 2014.

In another bright spot in the report, new account fraud – where a scammer opens a new account in the name of the victim – appears to have hit a record low in 2014. The good news does not go much further than that however. The report also found that victims of new account fraud are three times more likely to take a year or more to discover that their identities were misused than victims of other types of fraud.

Additionally, while incidents of identity fraud may have declined, they had a lasting impact on the spending habits of some of the victims. According to the survey, 28 percent of the 5,000 people surveyed said they avoided merchants after being victims of fraud. In addition, individuals whose credit or debit cards were breached in the past year were nearly three times more likely to be an identity fraud victim.

While students were the least concerned about fraud, Javelin found students were actually the most impacted. Though 64 percent said they were unconcerned with fraud, the group reported feeling more impact when fraud occurred, with 15 percent classifying it as moderate or severe. Students are also the least likely to detect identity fraud themselves. Some 22 percent said they were notified of the situation by a debt collector or when they were denied credit, three times higher than the average fraud victim.

“Despite the headlines, the occurrence of identity fraud hasn’t changed much over the past year, and it is still a significant problem,” said Al Pascual, director of fraud & security, Javelin Strategy & Research, in a statement. “Consumers, financial institutions and retailers are all taking aggressive steps, yet we must remain vigilant. The criminals will continue to find new ways to commit fraud, so taking advantage of available technology and services to protect against, detect and resolve identity fraud is a must for all individuals and corporations.”

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Security vendor Fortinet released a survey that shows homeowners want to embrace the Internet of Things (IoT), but are worried about privacy and security.

In a survey of 1,801 homeowners, Fortinet found that 61 percent of U.S. respondents believe the connected house – a home where appliances and home electronics are seamlessly connected to the Internet – is “extremely likely” to become a reality during the next five years. Eighty-four percent of homeowners in China felt that way.

But the excitement over the prospect is tempered by security concerns. A majority of respondents (69 percent) globally said they were extremely or somewhat concerned a connected appliance could result in data breach of sensitive information. Among U.S. homeowners, the figure was 68 percent. When asked how they would feel if a connected device in their home was secretly or anonymously collecting information about them and sharing it with third-parties, 62 percent said they would feel “completely violated and extremely angry to the point where I would take action.” The strongest responses came from South Africa, Malaysia and the U.S., with the U.S. coming in at 67 percent.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents in the U.S. also agreed with the statement that “privacy is important to me, and I do not trust how this type of data may be used.”

“The Internet of Things promises many benefits to end-users, but also presents grave security and data privacy challenges,” said John Maddison, vice president of marketing at Fortinet , in a statement. “Crossing these hurdles will require clever application of various security technologies, including remote connection authentication, virtual private networks between end-users and their connected homes, malware and botnet protection, and application security − applied on premises, in the cloud and as an integrated solution by device manufacturers.”

Many of respondents said they felt they should have access to any data collected by a connected home appliance. Sixty-six percent said that only themselves or others whom they have given permission should have access to this information. In the U.S., the number was 70 percent, with about a quarter also stating they thought the device manufacturer or their Internet Service Provider (ISP) should have access to the collected data as well.

Forty-two percent said the government should regulate collected data, while 11 percent said regulation should be enforced by an independent, non-governmental organization. In the United States, only 34 percent of respondents felt the government should regulate collected data.

Still, the respondents felt the device manufacturers should be primarily responsible for securing the device if a vulnerability is found. Forty-eight percent of all those surveyed agreed that the manufacturer is responsible for updating and patching their technology. However, almost 31 percent responded that it was the responsibility of the homeowner to keep the device up to date.  

“The battle for the Internet of Things has just begun,” Maddison said. “According to industry research firm IDC, the IoT market is expected to hit $ 7.1 trillion by 2020. The ultimate winners of the IoT connected home will come down to those vendors who can provide a balance of security and privacy vis-à-vis price and functionality.”

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