Global Study Finds Majorities of Online Consumers are Concerned about Identity Theft and Fraud

New York, NY - Three-quarters of online consumers have some worry that they will fall victim to identity theft, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted in United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom on behalf of PayPal.

Canada, the UK and the US have the most concerned online consumers, with Spain, Canada and the US having the largest number of very concerned. Germany and the France have the lowest levels of concern with identity theft. Identity theft has become the dominant concern of online shoppers over the last decade, even while concerns with other aspects of online shopping have subsided.

Unsurprisingly, victims and friend of victims have the highest levels of concern. Victims and relations are also likely to be more concerned about identity theft happening again and change their online passwords more frequently as a result.

Identity theft is more pronounced in English speaking countries. One in ten online consumers in Canada, the UK and the US have been victims of identity theft. Only about one in twenty are identity theft victims in France, Germany and Spain.

Passwords are Leaving Many Online Shoppers Vulnerable to Identity Theft...

Most online shoppers use multiple passwords, but rarely change them.

Over a third change their passwords only when or if required. An additional one in six change their passwords once a year or less often. Consumers in English speaking countries and Germany change their passwords the most often, Spain and France the least.

Most of these online consumers say they memorize their passwords. However, less than two-thirds of consumers memorize their passwords and use no other form of assistance. Writing passwords down or store them with websites are also frequently used password management practices. Americans are most likely to write down their passwords (36%).

A majority of online consumers say they do not share password information with their families. German online shoppers are the most private with their information; only 28% have ever shared password information with relatives. In contrast, Americans are the most trusting, as almost 6 in 10 have at some point shared password information.

Almost half of online consumers use important family dates, family member names or nicknames or pet's names as their password. Name and date usage is highest in France where 53% use personal information as their password.

Use of "secure" passwords like random numbers, alphanumeric sequences or made up terms is much lower among these online consumers. Germans (27%) and Americans (24%) are most likely to use the more secure passwords.

Many Online Shoppers Post Information they Use to Create Their Passwords on Social Networking Sites...

Over four in ten online consumers use social networking sites. They are particularly popular in Canada (49%), Britain (48%) and France (45%); and among consumers younger than 45.

Social network users are most likely to post information are birth dates, followed by messages from friends and family and information about hobbies and interests. However, one in six social network users (or one in fifteen of all online shoppers) are at risk of exposing their passwords by sharing the same sorts of information on their networking sites.

• French social network users run the greatest risk of exposure (31%) primarily because of the large number who use birthdates as passwords and publish their birthdates online (26%).
• British, Canadian and German social networking users are the most circumspect with the information they publish.

Protection of Privacy is the Top Online Shopping Concern...

Protecting privacy and the related protection from fraud and identity theft are online consumers' two biggest concerns.

Online consumers in Canada and the United States are also somewhat concerned about shipping fees whereas Spanish consumers are worried about not receiving the product at all. Germans are unique because they are not overwhelmingly concerned about any online shopping problems, perhaps due to the strong privacy and consumer protection laws in that country.

Disposing of Financial Statements...

A large majority of online consumers still receive financial statements from their banks and credit card companies in paper form. About one third of these online consumers (excluding the US) receive their statements online. Fewer than one in five receive electronic statements only.

Most consumers in Canada, the UK and the US use shredders to dispose of financial statements. A large number of German consumers also use shredders, though most French and Spanish consumers tear their statements up before throwing them away or use them as fire kindling.

These are some of the findings from the 2008 PayPal Trust and Safety Study, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs from May 28 - June 3 in the United States, and from August 15 - 25 in Europe. The e-mail survey reached 1,000 panelists in each of the six countries: the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. All respondents had shopped online in the past 90 days. Quotas for age, gender and PayPal usage were set during the survey to ensure representative online populations in each of the six countries.

For more information on this news release, please contact: Chris Jackson Ipsos Public Affairs Washington, DC (202) 463-2146

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