Despite evidence of increased identity theft, 70% pf Canadians think it is “somewhat” or “very” unlikely that they will be victimized.
That’s the finding of a survey conducted for consumer credit firm TransUnion, by Roper Public Affairs.
“The techniques used by today’s identity thieves evolve so rapidly that even technologically sophisticated people and organizations are at risk of having their information stolen,” said Mark Merritt, vice president, customer solutions of TransUnion in Canada. “Canadians are becoming more cognizant of this threat, but as the survey reveals, much more vigilance will be required.”
The Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus estimates consumers, banks, credit card firms, stores and other businesses lose more than $2.5 billion every year to the perpetrators of identity theft.
Still, just 24 percent of Canadians believe the threat is real, saying they think it is “very” or “somewhat” likely that they will be victimized by identity theft. Only one in twenty (5 percent) say they think it is “very” likely to happen to them.
“Identity theft can happen to anyone. Consumers should be aware of the widespread consequences of these crimes, and attentively monitor their credit to catch fraudulent activity in its earliest stages,” Merritt said.
The survey also found:
- gender and education are not factors in considering identity theft;
- older Canadians are more confident in their identity safety;
- Canadians residing in small cities feel more secure.
Roper Public Affairs conducted this study from September 2 to September 4, 2005. A total of 1,004 interviews were conducted among adults across Canada. Age, gender, income and geographic information was collected. The margin of error for the complete sample is +/- 3 percentage points.