Brits are potentially worth a total of £361bn to
cybercriminals throughidentity theft.
Research commissioned by security firm VeriSign says UK internet
users are putting up to £361bn at risk by sharing personal data on
websites that are either not secure or poorly protected.
The survey found that the average UK consumer is worth £10,077
online. This figure is the total sum of monetary assets available
in the average person's online accounts, which could include
banking, gaming and shopping accounts.
With 65% of respondents sharing personal information with their
online bank each week, 58% with online retailers and 31%
with social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, the
ability of fraudsters to steal a customer's details and money
online is substantially increased, said VeriSign.
In addition, with 75% freely giving away their date of birth,
70% their home address, and 68% their mother's maiden name, the
threat is worsened, VeriSign said.