NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 41 million
U.S. adults have had their identities stolen, according to a new
Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report, and another 49 million know
someone who has been affected.
Many people are putting themselves in harm's way by engaging in
risky behaviors. For example:
- 42% of Americans do not regularly check their credit
reports.
- 36% conduct banking and other sensitive business on unsecured
WiFi networks that do not require a password.
- 28% say their online account passwords are all or mostly the
same. 18-25 year-olds are the worst offenders: about half of them
use the same password all or most of the time.
Click here for more information:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/money-pulse-1016.aspx
"About two in five Americans have either been an identity theft
victim or know someone who has," said Bankrate.com analyst
Mike Cetera. "This is a widespread
problem and many people aren't doing enough to protect
themselves."
The recently announced Yahoo hack, which included 500 million
accounts, is the latest major data breach to affect consumers.
Other prominent examples from the past few years include Target and
Home Depot.
At myBankrate.com, consumers can stay on top of their credit
with free monthly reports and scores. Identity theft protection is
available for a nominal fee.
The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research
Associates International. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with
a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults living in the
continental United States. Interviews were conducted by
landline (500) and cell phone (500, including 316 without a
landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source
from September 15-18, 2016. Statistical results are weighted
to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling
error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.8
percentage points.
About Bankrate.com:
Bankrate.com provides consumers with the expert advice and tools
needed to succeed throughout life's financial journey. For over two
decades, Bankrate.com has been a leading personal finance
destination. The company offers award-winning editorial
content, competitive rate information, and calculators and tools
across multiple categories, including mortgages, deposits, credit
cards, retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. Bankrate aggregates
rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300
financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets,
Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate
develops and provides web services to more than 100 cobranded
websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted
and frequently visited personal finance sites on the internet, such
as Comcast, Yahoo!, CNBC and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate
licenses editorial content to more than 500 newspapers on a daily
basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today,
The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
For more information:
Ted Rossman
Public Relations Director
ted.rossman@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8635
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SOURCE Bankrate.com