ANCHOR LEAD
THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT THESE DAYS... BUT A NEW STUDY SHOWS WE MAY BE OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES. THE RESEARCH SHOWS PEOPLE WOULD RATHER GIVE UP SECURITY ONLINE AND ON THE PHONE ... THAN BE INCONVENIENCED. HERE'S SCOTT HANSON WITH OUR HEADS UP REPORT.

TRACK ONE Length: 05
BRANDON ALEXANDER ENJOYS SURFING THE WEB. JUST DON'T ASK HIM TO CHANGE HIS PASSWORD.

SOT
KEY@: :06 Brandon Alexander, Internet User
"It's hard for me because I like to keep my password around things and people that I know and things that are dear to my heart."

TRACK TWO Length: 04
A NEW SURVEY SHOWS BRANDON'S NOT THE ONLY INTERNET USER WHO FEELS THIS WAY.

SOT
KEY@: :19 Trevor Hughes, International Association of Privacy Professionals
"They will get frustrated if you try to ask them to jump through hoops that will actually improve the security of their data."

TRACK THREE Length: 11
THE SURVEY BY E-D-S AND THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVACY PROFESSIONALS SHOWS 61 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS DON'T WANT TO BE FORCED TO CHANGE THEIR PASSWORDS... EVEN IF IT DOES INCREASE THEIR SECURITY.

SOT
KEY@: :39 Brian McEachern, Internet User
"I got it up here. So I don't want to go and change it because I might forget it."

TRACK FOUR Length: 06
OVER HALF DON'T WANT THEIR ACCOUNTS TO BE LOCKED DOWN AFTER THREE FAILED ATTEMPTS TO LOG ON.

SOT
KEY@: (too short to key) Brian McEacher, Internet User
"To me it's kind of annoying."

TRACK FIVE Length: 04
AND CONSUMERS ARE QUITE WILLING TO GIVE UP SENSITIVE INFORMATION OVER THE PHONE.

SOT
KEY@: :54 Trevor Hughes, International Association of Privacy Professionals
"92 percent of people said that they would give away their name in an unsolicited telephone call."

TRACK SIX Length: 13
OVER 86 PERCENT SAID THEY'D GIVE THEIR ACCOUNT NUMBER ON THE PHONE... MORE THAN HALF WILL TELL A CALLER THEIR PASSWORD. AND NEARLY 9 PERCENT WILL EVEN TELL SOMEONE THEIR CREDIT CARD NUMBER. IT'S ALL AN OPEN INVITATION FOR IDENTITY THEFT.

SOT
KEY@: 1:12 Trevor Hughes, International Association of Privacy Professionals
"Many people are entering their information and really being robbed."

STAND-UP CLOSE
Source:Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Report September 2003
IF YOU THINK SECURITY STEPS ARE TIME CONSUMING CONSIDER THIS. THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION SAYS IT TAKES A VICTIM AN AVERAGE OF 30 HOURS TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY IDENTITY THEFT.
FOR HEADS UP... I'M SCOTT HANSON

ANCHOR TAG
HERE'S SOME ADVICE TO HELP YOU KEEP YOUR PASSWORDS... AND PIN NUMBERS UNDER WRAP. CREATE A DOCUMENT LISTING ALL YOUR PASSWORDS... BUT DON'T STORE IT ON YOUR HARD DRIVE WHERE ANY USER CAN FIND IT. INSTEAD... PUT IT ON A FLOPPY DISK... OR ONE OF THOSE NEW PORTABLE KEYCHAIN DRIVES, AND KEEP IT WITH YOU.

SOURCES

Trevor Hughes
International Association of Privacy Professionals

Mr. Hughes is the executive director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. He's an attorney who has worked in a variety of privacy fields for online services, before joining the IAPP.

IAPP and EDS commission the survey referenced in this report. The full survey can be found at http://www.eds.com/services/innovation/downloads/privacy_survey.pdf