Online transaction concerns increase
25 May 2005
UK web users are starting to abandon web shopping and online banking amid concerns about identity theft.
Research commissioned by data software firm Intervoice found that 17 per cent of respondents said they had stopped banking online while 13 per cent said they had abandoned web shopping. More than half of those questioned said they believed the government's proposed ID card was the best way to combat identity theft.
The survey found that the public is worried about technologies such as online check-out services and credit card readers following an increasing number of high-profile phishing, or identity fraud, attacks.
Phishing attempts aim to trick web users into divulging confidential personal and financial information online, often by mimicking legitimate websites.
Of those polled, 36 per cent said technologies such as credit card readers and online checkouts were top of their list of online ID concerns, 25 per cent worried about their paper receipts. Meanwhile, 16 per cent of respondents were concerned about giving passwords out to friends and family, 14 per cent said they were worried about shop employees and nine per cent wondered what companies do with their data.
George Platt of Intervoice said ID cards would have only a limited effect on public concerns, adding: "Even if the government can deliver a majority for its national ID card, the impact on telephone and online identity theft will be minor.
"In Intervoice's opinion we need to look towards more realistic alternatives such as biometric voice verification to provide reliable security screening for telephone purchases and account queries."
A recent survey by Which? Magazine found that a quarter of UK adults had either been the victim of identity fraud or knew someone who had.
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