More than one in four consumers had a debit or credit card replaced in 2009 due to security issues, according to a research firm that tracks the financial services industry. The reasons vary from lost cards that had to be replaced to security concerns. According to the research firm Javelin Strategy, a large number of those had more than one card replaced or a card reissued more than once. Javelin conservatively estimates that the cost to financial institutions to reissue cards was $252 million in 2009.

Among the research findings:

• More than one in four of all U.S. consumers have received a data breach notification.

• New accounts fraud – which is the most difficult to detect – accounts for a large percentage of the growth in identity fraud over the past two years.

• Consumers often either no longer use a card or use it less after it is reissued.

• Banks are viewed less favorably by 38% of consumers after they receive a breach notification.

Changes in the law in the majority of states, as well as a new rule that went into effect June 1st, mean that banks and other financial institutions must do more to identify and detect “red flags” that signal possible identity theft. Yet the study found that these notifications are not appropriately spurring consumers to action. If you have been notified by your bank that there has been a security breach on your account, you are nearly five times more likely to experience fraud than consumers who have not been contacted about such breaches, according to Javelin.  The report costs $1,200 but you can read a press release about it here.

People looking for a prepaid debit card can find them at Kmart stores nationwide. Or, if you already have a prepaid Visa® or prepaid MasterCard® and are looking for a way to put money on your card, you can also find GreenDot® MoneyPaks at any K-mart.

Kmart Store Locator

This online Kmart store Locator can help you find the nearest Kmart location. There are more than 1,327 stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation. The first Kmart store opened in Garden City, Michigan in March 1962.

You can watch a video of how to load money by clicking the LOAD MONEY link in the navigation bar above.

Anonymous Credit Cards

Is it possible to make purchases using a credit card without having to provide a name and address? Is it possible for a credit card to be printed without a name? Fact is, most merchants require you to provide your name and address along with your credit card number, especially in online forms. This information is used to verify the card account as valid.  There are some websites out there that provide “cloaking services” but I have yet to see an objective third party like Consumer Reports substantiate them. There are also some “offshore” Visa® and MasterCard® cards but it is not clear if these are actual credit cards or prepaid cards, since often prepaid cards are misidentified as prepaid credit cards. There are “virtual credit cards” that provide a measure of privacy, because this is a service that substitutes your actual credit card number with a one-time-use but valid substitute number for a fee. So even if hackers get this number, it will no longer be valid. And merchants cannot amass a database of your purchases tied to the card number.

Living Off the Grid

I have an old college friend who is not on Facebook, not on Twitter, doesn’t have an e-mail address, and does his best to live “off the grid.” It’s not that he lives an illegal lifestyle. Far from it. He’s a successful business owner, but he simply wasn’t comfortable with the idea that Big Brother might be watching him, that every mouse click and every transaction was being stored in a database somewhere.

My friend’s fears have come to pass, as we leave such a strong digital footprint in our wake, that it’s possible for marketers to profile our most obscure interest from our past purchases. Hence, many people would like some way to take back a piece of their spending habits and make it anonymous or discreet.

Prepaid Cards For Confidential, Private and Discreet Purposes

Some people want to keep some of their spending private from say the eyes of a spouse who might open and read their credit card statement. We’re not going to list what this spending might entail, but suffice to say, even if some merchants provide generic sounding names for purchases, a curious or suspicious spouse might want to know what the spending is all about.

A prepaid card offers a measure of privacy in that no bank statement is mailed to your house. You check your account by logging in to your account online. So you don’t generate a “paper trail.” Only you have access to your transaction history.

You can also set up direct deposit to have a chunk of change put on the card at regular intervals. This might be your “mad money” or “hobby fund.” It’s apart from your finances, taken out before the rest of your pay is recorded into your bank account as a deposit. Thus, somebody looking at your bank statement won’t know that you have already set aside your own private spending funds.