Not a day goes by that we don’t have another announcement about some kind of banking or data breach. The sad fact is that we are the last nation on earth that does *not* have a secure payment system in place.
Unfortunately, there are no consequences to our banks being careless with our information. Yet it is not this way with other countries around the world.
According to MarketWatch, the banking regulator in South Korea has taken some really punitive steps against errant banks that had data breaches. When the South Korean banks dropped the ball, the regulatory agency told them they were not allowed to make any loans or credit cards for 6 months!
That is real teeth. With our banks, nothing happens to them! But what South Korea is doing has direct logical consequence. Good job, South Korea!
Imagine if we told our banks that they can’t open any new accounts for 90 days after a data breach. That would demonstrate real consequence to running a haphazard insecure payment system in the United States.
As for the reality of where we are right now, there are 2 things I want you to consider:
1. Check your bills thoroughly each month. Look for any phony charges and dispute them with your bank or credit card issuer.
2. Consider freezing your credit files. With a credit freeze in place, a criminal can’t do anything with your information even if they compromise it.
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