The identity theft protection market is booming, and for good reason. The fact of the matter is that there are nefarious folks out there who just can’t wait to get their hands on your personal information and use it for their own gain. While identity theft is a problem everywhere right now, a recent survey suggests that perhaps the most dangerous place in the world in terms of identity theft is Australia.
According to the study, one in ten Australians is a victim of identity theft. It’s estimated that identity theft costs Aussies around $1.3 billion a year and climbing. This is a startling statistic, and suggests that Australia may be in extreme danger.
The study, done by the firm Galaxy Research, was sponsored by VeriSign. VeriSign is a company that sells online security products.
The study found that the average Australian lost about $1,000 as a result of identity theft. If the survey results are accurate, just under 1.4 million Internet users in Australia have been victims of identity theft online.
There are a number of common methods that criminals use to steal identities online. Phishing emails – where the criminal poses as a financial institution or other type of business that the victim has an account with – are usually the most common schemes. Other schemes use emails that promise to reward the victim with millions of dollars for “holding” or “transferring” money.
More than half of users claimed to have encountered these kinds of emails in the past year.
Interestingly enough, age seems to be a factor in whether or not you are a victim of identity theft, at least in Australia. Gen Y users were more likely to be taken advantage of because they seem to be more lax about security measures, while users over the age of 50 tend to be the most security conscious.
Industry experts suggest that consumers need to become educated more about online security, and take extra caution when giving out personally identifying information to make sure it’s a legitimate situation.
