May 2, 2007

NEWS: NZ Residents Face ID Theft Risk

A recent survey of almost a full third of New Zealand’s population showed that the country’s residents are not protecting themselves fully – if at all- from the risk of fraud and identity theft. Of the survey’s respondents, over thirty-three percent didn’t shred or even tear up bank statements received by mail before trashing them. This alone means that a huge chunk of the nation is not taking even the most basic steps to protect themselves – picking through the trash is a time-honored technique of would-be identity thieves to garner personal information.

A similar amount of those surveyed – twenty-nine percent – admitted to never reading the terms and conditions disclosure information provided by their credit card issuers and banking institutions. Graham Alston, Partner Global Financial Services, Unisys New Zealand, claims that this information, combined with the data from the former paragraph, is quite disturbing in its implication that New Zealanders are either inadequately educated or uncaring about the basics of protecting themselves from potential fraud.

Despite fraudsters’ tendency to obtain unspeakably valuable personal information through the most innocuous means, like rifling through a trash can or peeking over someone’s shoulder at the ATM, many consumers are still not taking precautions, said Alston. The survey also showed that one in ten New Zealanders were still using easy-to-remember PIN numbers, like a birthdate – another big no-no!


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