Nearly half of U.S. consumers place card and card data theft at the top of their fraud worries: 46% named it as the single biggest concern, according to a recent survey by Capco.
Card and card data theft: the most prominent anxiety
The Capco survey captures a clear hierarchy of consumer concern. Card and card data theft lead at 46%, followed closely by identity theft at 44%. Purchases consumers did not make and account takeover trail behind at 40% and 35%, respectively. Those percentages make plain that payment-card risks remain the dominant worry for the public when they think about personal financial security.
Attempted payment fraud — nearly half of respondents affected
Personal experience with fraud is widespread. Almost half of respondents (49%) reported they had experienced attempted payment fraud over the past two years. The most common form among those experiences was purchases the respondent did not make (45%). Other reported attack vectors included phishing (36%), card or card data theft (33%), fake online stores (27%), push payment fraud (26%) and account takeover (25%). These figures suggest that concerns over card data are matched by frequent encounters with a range of payment- and account-related fraud tactics.
Confidence in financial institutions remains high, despite the threats
Consumer trust in banks and primary financial institutions remains strong on paper: nine out of ten respondents said they were either very confident (53%) or somewhat confident (37%) that their primary financial institution will protect them. That near-uniform expression of confidence sits alongside the substantial rates of attempted fraud and the specific worries consumers report, creating an uneasy mix of trust and exposure.
AI, deepfakes and biometric authentication under scrutiny
Emerging technologies are reshaping what consumers fear. A majority — 69% of respondents — said they were concerned about the impact of “deep fake” technology on voice biometrics and facial ID. Within that majority, 24% described those authentication methods as “not entirely secure,” 6% labeled them “insecure,” and 39% worry those methods will come “under future threat.” The survey also reports that 89% of respondents worry online personal data could make impersonation easier or reveal answers to security questions. Capco’s findings explicitly link escalating consumer concern to fraudsters and cybercriminals “turning to AI to enable their exploits,” underscoring why biometric and data-exposure anxieties are rising.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, and consumers
- Technologists and security teams: Expect pressure to strengthen payment-card protections and biometric resilience. The mix of frequent attempted fraud (49% of respondents) and the specific breakdown of attack types points to prioritized defenses against unauthorized purchases, phishing, fake storefronts, and card-data theft.
- Policymakers and regulators: The strong consumer trust in financial institutions (90% expressing some confidence) paired with high levels of worry about AI-enabled impersonation (69% concerned about deepfakes; 89% worried about online data enabling impersonation) will likely frame oversight questions about authentication standards and data exposure.
- End users and the general public: Actual experience with attempted payment fraud is common, and consumers express specific, measurable anxieties. Awareness programs and clearer communications from primary financial institutions about how they are addressing card-data theft and emerging AI-driven threats may be consequential given the survey numbers.
The Capco survey presents a stark set of contrasts: broad trust in financial institutions coexisting with frequent attempts at payment fraud and mounting anxiety about AI-enabled impersonation and biometric attacks. The numbers — from 46% prioritizing card-data theft to 89% fearing that online personal data makes impersonation easier — create a sequence of specific questions for financial institutions and regulators to answer about protection, detection and the resilience of authentication approaches in an era when fraud actors are increasingly described as using AI.
Read the original Capco survey report here: https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/102400-card-data-theft-remains-top-concern-for-us-consumers
