Eight in 10 bin personal information, study shows

NEW RESEARCH into identity fraud has found that eight in every 10 Irish people routinely throw personal information into the bin.

The organisers of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, shredder manufacturer Fellowes, claim 87,000 people in Ireland have already fallen victim to identity fraud.

They have warned members of the public against providing “easy pickings for fraudsters looking to steal their identities”.

The research was carried out for Fellowes by the UK firm Dynamic Markets. A sample of 603 Irish people were interviewed online in August.

The research found 82 per cent said they regularly threw away bank statements, utility bills, passwords and pin numbers without shredding them first.

Meanwhile, 52 per cent did not check financial statements and bills against receipts, and 62 per cent did not act when expected mail does not arrive, “giving ample time and opportunity for fraudsters to piece together all the information they need to steal our identities”.

Around a third of people had not reported the loss of a passport straight away.

The research described online shopping and social networking as “high-risk activities, often encouraging the sharing of large amounts of personal information”.

However, 84 per cent of computer users had security software installed on their machines.

Fellowes Ireland spokesman, Ciarán Dunne, urged people to become more vigilant. “For example, they need to check their mail for unusual transactions, report missing post immediately, never give out information to people unless absolutely sure and importantly, they need to shred anything you wouldn’t want in the hands of a stranger,” he said.

“People spend thousands of euro protecting their homes against burglary – from top of the range locks to lighting systems and alarms. However, this research shows that virtually everyone in the country is potentially throwing away their identity.”

The Fellowes survey also questioned 318 Irish people about practices in the workplace and perceptions of corporate responsibility.

Nine out of 10 people said they were not completely confident that the organisations they dealt with could prevent their personal information from falling into the hands of identity fraudsters.

A total of 93 per cent of employees in the sample admitted that the identity details of employees and/or customers of their company could be at risk.

One third of employees said their organisation did not have a comprehensive policy with clear “do’s and don’ts” for employees to follow to help protect people’s identity. Meanwhile, 79 per cent of people surveyed thought their organisation should be doing more.

The research suggests that while nine out of 10 Irish people believe they are at risk from identity fraud, less than half know what they should be doing to protect their personal information.

The campaign has set up the dedicated www.stop-idfraud.ie website, at which concerned people can take a test to find out how “at risk” they are.

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week continues until Sunday.