NCR ATM Security Survey

Toronto, ON - A new national Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of NCR finds that half (51%) of Canadians are concerned about fraud at the ATM after hearing the news stories that feature fraud taking place at automatic banking machines. A full 15% of Canadians indicate that they are much more concerned than they were before hearing the stories.

Canadians are concerned enough about fraud that the majority (57%), nearly six in ten, feel most comfortable using an ATM that is in a financial institution's lobby or wall in order to try to protect themselves from fraud at the ATM. However, nearly three in ten (29%) will use any ATM "anywhere, it doesn't matter".

Many Canadians are reporting that they take precautions to avoid being defrauded. Over six in ten (64%) check that there is no one hanging around while they are using an ATM, and 62% make sure to shield their PIN number and the keypad on the ATM. Half (49%) of Canadians are now checking around the card reader and the cash slot before using the ATM, while over one third (36%) will only use them during daylight hours.

Despite feeling the need to take these measures to avoid fraud, and using ATMs that are close to financial institutions, knowing that fraud has taken place at ATMs is not enough to make the majority (69%) of Canadians change how often they bank at ATMs. However, over one quarter (26%) indicates that they will use ATMs less, with 4% stating they will stop using ATMs altogether.

A likely reason Canadians won't change their habits? A majority of seven in ten (68%) find ATMs to be convenient, and over half (54%) think they are easy to use.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/NCR poll conducted from May 30 to June 1, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Half of Canadians are concerned about fraud at the ATM...

In light of the news programs that feature stories about fraud at ATMs through methods such as card skimming or card trapping, respondents were asked if finding out about these sorts of occurrences made them concerned about using ATMs. The majority of Canadians (51%) report that they are more concerned than before hearing the news stories, with 15% indicating they are much more concerned. Over one quarter of Canadians (27%) indicate that they are no more or less concerned about fraud at the ATM than they were before hearing any news stories, 3% state they are less concerned than they were before and 10% remain not at all concerned. Just under one in ten (8%) are unaware of news stories about fraud at the ATM.

• Significantly more women (57%) than men (45%) report being more concerned about using ATMs than before the news stories.

This belief that ATMs are not necessarily secure from fraud is echoed by the fact that the majority (57%) of Canadians prefer to use ATMs that are located by or in financial institutions. The largest group (43%) feel safest while using an ATM in the lobby of a financial institution and the rest through the wall of the financial institution's branch (14%). However, nearly three in ten (29%) Canadians will use an ATM "anywhere, it doesn't matter." Smaller groups feel safest using bank branded ATMs in a store, mall or airport (5%), a drive up ATM (3%) or any ATM in a store, mall or airport (2%).

In order to protect themselves from fraud, the majority of Canadians check that there is no one hanging around while using an ATM (64%), and shield the PIN/keypad on the ATM (62%). Another protective action half of Canadians (49%) will take is to check that there is nothing around the card reader and/or cash slot. Over one third (36%) will only use ATMs during daylight hours. However, 15% of Canadians state that they do not undertake any of these actions to avoid being defrauded.

...But 7 in 10 Canadians do not plan on changing how often they use ATMs

Now knowing that fraud has taken place at ATMs, respondents were asked if it will change how often they use ATMs. Over one quarter (26%) of Canadians suggest that they will use ATMs less, with 4% stating they will stop using them altogether. However, a good majority (69%) indicate that they will continue to use ATMs as often as they did before. Only 3% will use ATMs more often, with 2% stating they will only use ATMs.

• Women (32%) are similarly significantly more likely to use ATMs less or shop using them altogether than men (20%)

While a majority of Canadians agree that ATMs are convenient (68%) and are easy to use (54%), only one third (33%) would describe them as trusted, and fewer still (17%) feel that ATMs are secure from fraud. Three in ten (31%) Canadians describe ATMs as vulnerable to fraud, 10% describe them as "not trusted" and 5% see them as inconvenient.

• Men (21%) are significantly more likely to feel that ATMs are secure from fraud than women (13%).

The reason for the concern is that nearly three in ten (29%) Canadians do most of their business with their bank or credit union through the ATM, however, the most common method, online banking, is now used by over one third of Canadians (34%) to deal with their bank or credit union. One quarter (25%) of Canadians still visit a branch in person, while 7% choose to bank over the telephone.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Jacqueline Boukydis
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

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