Money Talk: Identity theft on the rise, but less stolen in 2015

Editor’s note: Each Monday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Money Talk,” a wrap-up of banking and financial news. 

IDENTITY THEFT ON THE RISE, BUT LESS STOLEN IN 2015, STUDY SAYS: The annual Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research revealed that the number of identity fraud victims increased by 3% (13.1 million consumers) in the U.S. last year, but that the amount stolen decreased by 6% to $15 billion. The study found that the rise of EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa standard) has already had a significant impact on fraudsters’ behavior and doubled the incidence of new account fraud. The study also found that many consumers who do not trust their financial institutions are engaging in behavior that enables fraudsters to use their information for 75% longer.

DUN & BRADSTREET’S ECONOMISTS TO PROVIDE WEBINAR ON HEALTH OF WORLD ECONOMY: Dun & Bradstreet will present its first, multi-year global economic outlook into 2020 in its next live webinar on Feb. 10, 2016. During this webinar nine economists who analyze Dun & Bradstreet’s commercial data – as well as macroeconomic data from major statistical offices and central banks – to formulate their forecasts will share their insights into where the world’s major economies are headed in the next four years.

Webinar participants will also learn about the full extent of China’s over-investment bubble and the implications for the global economy; how U.S. consumers will react to interest rate increases; and the various global growth engines and whether imbalances have reached dangerous levels. Admission to the live webinar is free, but registration is required here.

BEAR STATE FINANCIAL BOARD OK’S SPECIALLY APPROVED $3.6 MILLION SHARE BUYBACK: The board of directors for Bear State Financial Inc. has approved the repurchase of 448,068 shares of its common stock for a cash purchase price of $8.05 per share, or an aggregate purchase price for all of the shares of approximately $3.6 million. The specially approved share buyback program will not affect the Little Rock bank’s existing share repurchase program, which still has remaining capacity of $1.74 million. Company officials said the shares repurchased represented approximately 1% of Bear State’s total outstanding shares of common stock as of January 28, 2016.