According to a recent survey carried out on behalf of data security specialist, GB Group, a paltry 9 percent of respondents claimed to trust mobile phone companies and retailers to keep their data safe amid growing concerns about identity theft.
The poll effectively damns the mobile industry to rubbing shoulders with gambling companies and social networking sites at the bottom end of the league in an annual “trust” survey that gauges how customers perceive how companies handle private data.
By comparison, the survey indicated that just under half (48%) of UK consumers don’t trust their high street bank or building society to protect their personal details against identity theft,
Rob Laurence, managing director of GB’s fraud prevention business, said
Well over 45 million people in the UK have a mobile phone, but less than one in ten of those polled trust their mobile company with their personal details. We have to ask ourselves why this is. Information security has been high on the agenda for over 4 years now - why do consumers still feel businesses do not do enough to stop fraudsters from getting hold of their personal information?
Pretty enlightening stuff, but then it begs the question, if so many mobile users feel like this already, then why are they not voting with their feet and opting for ‘pay as you go’ mobiles that don’t require you to hand over any personal details? Can the lure of flashier handsets on contract really be so great that customers are willing to become the victims of fraud? Or do surveys like this just bring out the paranoia in people?
I think people say that they don’t trust their providers, but this doesn’t really matter for them. I mean, so many people are afraid of being supervised and too transparent, but at the same time give so much personal data in social networks.
Why they don’t they quit their contracts? I’d say laziness.