Despite a series of large-scale data breaches over the past two years, identity theft fell for a second consecutive year in the U.S., according to a new study released Tuesday, American Banker reported. Roughly 12.7 million Americans were hit with identity fraud in 2014, a 3 percent drop from a year earlier, while losses tied to that fraud fell 11 percent to $16 billion, said the study, which was released by Javelin Strategy & Research. The data may seem counterintuitive, but it’s clear that banks and others are getting better at protecting customers’ data in the wake of breaches, said Al Pascual, director of fraud and security at Javelin. Last year’s decrease was attributable in part to the Target Corp. breach in 2013. After it occurred, 95 percent of affected cards were replaced.