57% Are Still Confident in Online Security
Epsilon, a major online marketing firm, was hacked recently, giving cybercriminals access to millions of personal e-mail accounts from Marriott, Verizon, Chase Bank, Target and a number of other corporations. It's just the latest online security breach, but most Americans remain confident in the safety of their financial information on the Internet.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 57% of American Adults are at least somewhat confident in the security of online transactions and banking, including 17% who are Very Confident. Thirty-six percent (36%) are not confident in the security of online transactions, with 12% who are Not At All Confident. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Similarly, 59% say they are comfortable using their credit card for purchases over the Internet, including 20% who are Very Comfortable. Another 37% say they are uncomfortable using their card online, with 13% who are Not At All Comfortable with it. The number of Americans who are comfortable using their credit card online has ranged from 49% to 65% since late 2008.
However, just 41% of adults now say they bank online, down from 49% in December 2008.
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 10-11, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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