English may the language of international business, science and pop culture, but it’s also by far the favored language for identity thieves, according to a new study released by PayPal. The data indicates that consumers in English-speaking countries are roughly twice as likely to have their personal information stolen than consumers in other countries, such as France, Germany and Spain.
In Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., an astounding 10 percent of online shoppers reported personally experiencing identity theft, with 25 percent reporting they knew friends or family who had been struck.
Although e-commerce’s focus on English helps explain some of the fraud concentration in that language, other factors also explain the lapse. Germans, for instance, are by far the most careful with their passwords, with only 28 percent having shared them with others, compared to 60 percent of Americans, who are also most likely to write down them down. Spanish consumers, by contrast, are very new to e-commerce in general.
The study, commissioned by PayPal, reached 1,000 participants in each of six countries: the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. All were online shoppers with a combined demographic representative of their countries. To provide advice to online shoppers who may fall prey to identity theft, PayPal has launched an online micro-site with common-sense tips for protecting personal information.
