Canadians engaging in risky behaviour

Almost half (45%) of 18-34 year olds are taking risks with their credit card information, such as loaning their cards to someone or sharing payment information over email, phone or text, finds Visa Canada.

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These Canadians are also sharing information online, including keeping an open profile on a social network site, posting to a social media site at least once a day, publically sharing photos, and posting their employment history.

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“Young Canadians are especially vulnerable because they’re so used to sharing personal information online,” says Gord Jamieson, head of Payment System Risk. “But many don’t realize they are putting themselves at risk for fraud when they share their personal payment card information, both online and offline.”

Among those aged 35 and older, 32% reported taking risks with their payment card information. This group also reported less sharing of personal information online.

Read: When a client’s identity is stolen

Survey results show that oversharing financial information can indeed leave individuals vulnerable to fraud. In fact, 43% say they’ve experienced some form of payment card fraud. Among those who had not engaged in risky behaviour, only 19% had been victims.

“One easy step [to deter fraud] is to set up alerts that let you know via text or email every time your payment card is used,” says Jamieson.

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Additional findings include:

• 10% check their credit report on an annual basis;
• 17% have set up alerts to monitor card activity;
• 41% check their payment card statement more than once a month;
• 56% are more concerned about identity theft today than they were five years;
• 50% are more concerned about payment card fraud today than they were five years ago; and
• 50% are more concerned about consumer privacy today than they were five years ago.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.