According to a new research from digital authentication provider, MIRACL, which surveyed the attitudes of 1,000 UK consumers about their personal security online, a fifth of UK consumers, or their close friends or family, have been the victim of data theft or identity fraud.
But despite these clear risks, there is still a lack of awareness among many in the UK who seem to have no idea how dangerous this kind of data theft can be. Of those who have filled in a tax return online, almost half (48%) are not at all worried about the potential risks of losing their personal and financial information.
In addition, when asked which online activity made them most nervous about their personal and financial information being stolen, the majority were most worried about shopping online (51%), with just over a third most concerned about online banking (36%), and only 14% most concerned about using online government services, such as applying for a driving licence or filling in a tax return.
Over two-thirds of those surveyed said that they create stronger passwords in order to keep their personal and financial data safe online, such as using a combination of letters and numbers, or substituting numbers for letters.
The research found that most people would welcome the chance to use tighter security to protect themselves when using online services. Three-quarters (77%) said that they would feel better about providing their personal and financial details online if the website had stronger security procedures, such as multi-factor authentication.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now