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Study: Identity Thieves Swarm To English Speakers

Written by Evan Schuman
October 23rd, 2008

E-Commerce customers who speak English are “the most frequent victims of identity theft, twice the rate of France, Germany and Spain,” according to a study released Tuesday (Oct. 21) by PayPal. The E-mail survey of 1,000 consumers was conducted this summer and examined six countries: the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The survey touched on quite a few possible causes, but this was our favorite, even though it didn’t explain the language preference: “The survey found that about 40 percent of consumers in all six countries use social networking sites and some of these consumers display personal information that they also use for passwords.” I’m reminded of the line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Butch says he has no idea why he’s always broke, to which a colleague points out that he’s a really bad gambler, is always buying drinks for everyone, taking expensive vacations and is a soft touch. Butch replied: “Well, that might have something to do with it.”

Posted in E-Commerce, Payment Systems, Security/Fraud
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