If you were to survey American consumers whether or not they would like to be their own boss and successfully run their own business, I would imagine that a good majority would probably say yes. There is something empowering about the thought of setting your own hours and controlling your own destiny, but many people don’t actually take the steps to make that dream a reality.

Today, Experian’s global Fraud and Identity business released its analysis of client transaction data from the 2014 holiday season, showing an 80 percent reduction in the number of manual reviews among online merchants using the company’s fraud and identity products and services compared with the industry average. These results and other observations indicate that a customer-centric approach to fraud prevention would be more effective for many online merchants, leading the company to recommend five best practices for online merchants preparing for the 2015 holiday season.

Some of my fondest memories on road trips as a child were the games we were able to play. I’m sure many kids played “I Spy” and did “Sing-a-longs,” but my go-to game was “Slug Bug” (It’s a game where you get points for spotting a Volkswagen Beetle). While it’s been quite some time since I’ve played the game, I still find myself very aware of the different types of vehicles around me.

Health information security breaches and identity theft have become an epidemic with losses occurring across the country. In fact, according to a recent Ponemon Institute study sponsored by the Medical Identity Fraud Alliance, medical ID theft has increased by 21.7 percent since 2013. Additionally, data from the Department of Health and Human Services indicates that health data on more than 120 million people has been compromised in more than 1,100 separate breaches since 2009.

With rising insurance costs, deductibles and copays, some people struggle to afford the out-of-pocket expense that can come with seeking medical treatment. Because of this, some consumers decide not to seek treatment, which could have negative effects on their health and overall well-being.

A recent study conducted by Experian showed that a majority of vacationers overspend their budgets and rely on credit cards to provide extra funds. At the extreme end, more than half of millennial vacationers (52 percent) lean heavily on their credit cards, racking up vacation debt they’ll be repaying long after their trip comes to an end.

Nowadays, whenever you hear news about the automotive industry, a negative tone tends to pop up. Whether it’s the increase in lending to subprime consumers, or the lengthening in loan terms, the stories lead one to believe that the industry is headed toward another “bubble.” However, that’s not necessarily the case. When we look at the data, the automotive finance market actually demonstrates a strong industry as a whole.

The term big data tends to be overused in business today. While some refer to it as a technology and others a level of insight, it has come to embody many different data actions, from business intelligence, to analytics and data modelling. We have become so obsessed with big data that we think we have to have this level of insight as a requirement to running a successful business.

Confronted with a vast amount of incoming data, today’s digital marketers are facing an on-going battle to keep up.