Credit card security still lacking, study shows

Consumers who want to reduce debt may have trouble doing so if they are affected by credit card fraud, and a new study found that lenders may not do enough to prevent this type of crime from taking place.

While the nation's largest credit card lenders tend to do a good job of clearing up any instances of fraudulent credit card debt once they take place, they still have difficulties in preventing it from happening in the first place, according to a new study from Javelin Strategy and Research. As a consequence, this type of fraud costs lenders about $37 billion a year.

"Security and fraud detection are the consumer’s top concern when selecting and staying with a credit card issuer," said James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin. "Banks need to work hand in hand with their customers to stay ahead of identity threats and implement the right security measures to best protect sensitive cardholder data."

Last month, Citibank – one of the nation's biggest credit card lenders – was hit with a data breach that allowed thieves to steal $2.7 million from about 3,400 customers, complicating any consumer attempts to become debt free.