A new Gallup poll reveals widespread concern among American consumers about hacking and data breaches. In fact, those polled were more concerned about credit card crime than any other crime they were asked about. American Consumer Institute President Steve Pociask issued the following statement in reaction to the new poll:
“The unprecedented uptick in recent data breaches in the commercial and retail sectors has left American consumers feeling a heightened sense of concern about the safety and security of their personal information, as evidenced in Gallup’s new and revealing poll.
“American consumers face mounting threats to their financial security that are more widespread and more sophisticated than ever before. The pervasiveness of hacking and insufficient technological protections has made every American a potential victim. It is time that the United States joins the rest of the world in upgrading our dated, insecure credit card security system and making chip and PIN technology standard practice.
“Hackers will undoubtedly continue pursuing new methods to conduct their attacks, and that means the United States must get serious about taking action to protect consumers and our economy. American banks and credit cards issuers should take note of this important poll data and take its findings as a wake-up call to invest in and implement commonsense safeguards, like chip and PIN technology.”
For more information about the institute, visit www.theamericanconsumer.org.
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Steve Pociask is president of the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, a nonprofit (501c3) educational and research organization. Over the years, he has worked on a wide variety of issues, including finance, energy, insurance, regulation and competition. He has testified before Congress, state legislatures and regulatory commissions.