Americans worried about ID theft

by Doug Pollack

We know that over 10MM Americans this year will far victim to identity theft. But a recent survey by Bankrate asks people whether they are worried about this problem. The results indicate that people who personally know a victim of identity theft tend to be both more worried about this and also more proactive about protecting themselves.

The poll titled “Americans worry about ID theft; but consumers may be confused about the most effective strategies to protect their privacy” highlights:

“The results show that consumers who personally know a victim of identity fraud tend to be more concerned about the crime overall. Further, their concern pushes them to take more steps toward protecting their personal information, although there does seem to be some ambiguity as to the most efficient privacy protection actions.”

The following chart illustrates people’s answers to the question of how concerned they are about identity theft.

How concerned are you about having your identity stolen? Total Know an identity theft victim Don’t know a victim Very/somewhat concerned 81% 88% 76% Very concerned 40% 46% 36% Somewhat concerned 41% 42% 40% Not very/not at all concerned 19% 12% 24% Not very concerned 12% 7% 15% Not at all concerned 7% 5% 9%

So while most of us are concerned about identity theft, this is a problem area where most of us do very little to actually protect ourselves. If you talk with a friend or family member that has had to recovery their identity from theft, you will learn just how scary and time consuming that this can be. So don’t be complacent.