Seven out of 10 Britons fear the recession will increase
the chances of them falling victim to identity theft and consequent
crimes, says a study published today.
The latest
Unisys Security
Index, which measures consumers perceptions about computer
security, found 72% of Britons believed they were more at risk of
becoming victims of e-criminals as a result of the recession.
Almost nine out of 10 were worried that others could obtain
details of their bank, credit and debit card accounts, and then
gain unauthorised access or abuse them.
Figures released by Apacs, the payments industry body, suggest
consumers are
right to worry. According to Apacs, fraudon UK plastic cards
rose 14% to £609m last year.
Ian Readhead, director of information for the Association of
Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said he doubted whether the recession
drove e-crime. This was despite the study finding that 58% of
Britons were increasingly worried about being able to meet their
mortgage repayments and other living costs.
Describing e-crime as an opportunistic crime, he said stronger
motivations were the low risk of being caught and how easy it is to
repeat these crimes.
He acknowledged that these factors attracted more organised,
better financed criminals, and this pushed up the risks to
consumers.
Consumers were aware of this, the study showed.
The worry index on online security rose from 105 a year ago to a
record 121. Nearly seven out of 10 consumer were more worried about
the security of their computers and about the security of their
online transactions.
Consumers were also more worried about the terrorism threat,
with 82% reporting concern, compared to 75% a year ago, the study
said.
The Unisys Security Index is a global study of consumer
attitudes to information security. In the past year the UK's score
rose from 117 to 135. This pointed to a significant rise in
consumer angst, the authors said.