Daily Research News Online no. 3107 - A Case of Taken Identity

A Case of Taken Identity

May 6 2004

Americans are more aware of identity theft and are taking measures to protect themselves against it, according to a recent online survey by InsightExpress. 15% of Americans have been a victim themselves and one third have a friend or family member who has been a victim.

Almost three out of five (59%) of the 500 Americans responding are actively taking measures to protect themselves. The overwhelming majority (85%) are concerned that identity theft could happen to them.

More specifically, credit card purchases are a major worry, with 37% saying the online purchasing environment carries the greatest risk, 34% telephone purchases and 10% in-person purchases, indicating perhaps that initial fears about online use are subsiding to more rational levels. However, there are other forms of identity theft worrying many of the respondents.

Identity Theft - Potential Areas
	% of Americans Agreeing
Stolen wallet	86
Accessing a credit card number on the Internet	65
Identifying information on Internet sources	64
Stolen mail from an unlocked mailbox	64
'Dumpster diving' in trash binsfor un-shredded documents	58
Fraudulently accessing credit reports	56
Obtaining your name and Social SecurityNumber from personnel or customer filesin the workplace	54
'Shoulder surfing' at ATM to capture PIN numbers	46
Base: 500 US adults surveyed April 2004

Worries center around 'the nuisance factor' as well as the obvious financial implications. The steps taken to avoid identity theft are as follows:

Precaution
	% taking
Avoid giving my social security number out	87
Shred or destroy bank and/or credit card information	83
Shred or destroy any credit card or other direct mail offers	81
Create passwords containing numbers and letters	61
Avoid buying or making donations via the phone	58
Only purchase goods online from a reputable Web site	56
Install a computer firewall at home	52
'Read the privacy statements and/or bank liability clauses	50
Check my credit report more frequently	38
Only use one credit card for purchases	31
Avoid shopping online	31
Avoid using my debit/check-cashing card for purchases	20
Subscribe to an identity theft protection program	11
Base: 500 US adults surveyed April 2004

In terms of liability, less than half of consumers (48%) expect that they would be at least partly responsible for charges made on their credit card should they become a victim. A third consider that the institution who issues the card is responsible, 29% the institution that approves the credit card charge and 26% the merchants. 58% (only!) consider that the person stealing the card is responsible - presumably this was interpreted by most as 'likely to be held responsible in law'.

Lee Smith, President and COO of InsightExpress, says most consumers are learning about identity theft through television commercials and/or news reports: 'Three out of five consumers are telling us that banks are not doing enough to educate them on how to protect against identity theft... Credit card issuers and primary banks stand a better chance of capturing and retaining customers if they take a more proactive approach in educating and protecting consumers against the threat'.

Respondents for this study were randomly recruited online using InsightExpress' patent-pending e-RDD methodology, in late April. InsightExpress is online at www.insightexpress.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.