• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 30, 2005

Consumers Switch Banks Because of Identity Theft

A new study, released by IDC, by the independent research and advisory firm Financial Insights, measured the impact of identity theft on consumer fears and on their banking and online behaviors.

Sophie Louvel, research analyst at Financial Insights and author of the report, said "Close to 60% of U.S. consumers sampled in January 2005 expressed concern about identity theft, and close to 6% admitted to switching banks to reduce their risk of becoming a victim of identity theft. Identity theft incidents have been taking their toll on banks and their customer relationships.”

“Recent high-profile incidents of customer data theft… may drive bank customers to worry further about the possibility of experiencing identity theft. However, survey results show that not all consumers worry equally about identity theft and the crime itself does not impact all consumers across the U.S. at the same rate," continued Louvel.

The report suggests that financial institutions institute more proactive identity theft victim support, and provide identity theft prevention and detection tools to consumers.

You can find out more here.