One in five do not trust charities with personal data

More than 10 million know someone hit by ID fraud, prompting calls for action

One in five Britons (20 per cent) do not trust even charities to keep their personal information safe, while 10.3 million report they know someone whose identity has been stolen, according to a new survey by CanvasseOpinion for CreditExpert.co.uk - the credit monitoring and identity fraud protection service from Experian.

The least trusted companies were car dealers - 46 per cent of those surveyed did not trust them to keep personal data safe.

Next came insurance companies, at 34 per cent, and Internet retailers, at 33 per cent.

Government is also considered unreliable when it comes to data storage, say 32 per cent of us.

Next come retailers, at 27 per cent.

And 20 per cent even distrust charities, which increasingly rely on electronic personal data collection and computerised fundraising to raise much-needed cash.

Only banks do well.

Just 15 per cent of us mistrust them, against 71 per cent who think they are trustworthy - the only sector to get a positive trust score of more than 40 per cent.

Millions affected by ID fraud Lack of trust in big organisations might well be prompted by fears of ID fraud.

And 22 per cent - the equivalent of 10.3 million people - say that they know someone whose identity has been stolen.

Personal experience of misused, lost or stolen personal information is widespread.

The people surveyed reported that Internet-based companies had let this happen to 14 per cent of them, banks to 12 per cent, retailers to 11 per cent and government and insurance companies to nine per cent.

Swift retribution Data breaches - when personal information held by an organisation is seen or stolen by unauthorised people who could misuse it - could lead to hard line action by the people who are affected.

Two-thirds of us - 65 per cent - say that they would never buy again from an organisation that did not keep their personal information absolutely safe, while 60 per cent say they would never trust them again.

More than half of us - 52 per cent - would go out of their way to spread the word about the organisation's failings and nearly a quarter would consult a lawyer about suing.

But as well as venting anger, people want action.

Four out of five (80%) would want a full apology and explanation of what went wrong and 75 per cent would expect financial compensation.

Protection wanted Even more - 79 per cent - think that any organisation offering free access to a credit monitoring and identity fraud protection service would be seen as responsible.

And 43 per cent want companies to explain their fraud protection policies and keep them updated.

Jim Hodgkins, managing director of CreditExpert, says: "It is clear that millions of people are worried about data security and want organisations large or small, and public or private, to take action".

""But there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself.

For example, when you take a free 30-day trial of CreditExpert, you'll be alerted by text or e-mail every time there is a significant change to your credit report that could indicate an attempted identity fraud.

You can also see your credit report online as often as you like, which means that you'll see if anybody has tried to hijack your identity to borrow money in your name." People want organisations to offer protection not only to customers but also to employees".

"Jim adds, "The research shows a clear demand from consumers and employees to be put back in control of their personal information.

CreditExpert has therefore developed a data breach pack which is made available to organisations for free to help provide their customers and employees with the means to do just that".

""People should not have to wait for a data breach to happen before action is taken - they should have the power to monitor their personal information hands-on and nip any potential attempts at identity theft in the bud.".

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