LA JOLLA, CA -- 05/20/08 --
According to a new study conducted by Harris
Interactive®, consumers are unaware of 12 everyday activities, including
entering a sweepstakes, having a baby, getting married or filling out a
warranty card, that can compromise the security of personal information.
This can lead to increased profiling without consent and greater exposure
to identity theft, along with increased paper junk mail volume -- an
unnecessary drain on the environment.
Take a free privacy quiz
and compare your risk level against the national average.
According to Steven Gal, CEO of ProQuo,
a leading authority on privacy issues, one of the early indicators that a
consumer's personal information may be widely available in the data trade
industry is the amount of junk mail they receive. The average person
receives approximately 40 pounds of paper junk mail per year, with obvious
consequences to the environment. Through ProQuo.com, consumers can
pro-actively remove themselves from major data broker marketing and mailing
lists, while also indicating what type of offers, if any, they do want to
receive. The service is free.
Hear more from Steven Gal in an interview on the BNET
Business Network.
Results from the study show that 73 percent of adults entered a sweepstakes
in the past six months, but less than half (48 percent) were aware that
doing so can put their personal information at risk. Sixty-nine percent of
respondents were unaware that donating to a political campaign could
compromise control over personal information.
Other seemingly harmless but potentially risky behaviors include applying
for a home mortgage, signing up for a supermarket discount card, applying
for a credit card in a retail store or enrolling in a rewards program such
as frequent flyer or hotel points programs. Gal said consumers' personal
data is bought and sold many times over as part of a little-known $10
billion per year data trade industry. "While we don't expect consumers to
change their day-to-day behavior, we do want them to be aware of how these
activities can put their privacy at risk."
Survey Methodology The Privacy and Personal Information survey was
commissioned by ProQuo, Inc. and conducted online by Harris Interactive
between March 13 and March 17, 2008. A full methodology is available.
Contact:
Chad Darwin
Email Contact
213.996.3776
