Almost half of US consumers (49%) feel that the introduction of fingerprint IDs at the point of sale would help alleviate their fears of fraud and identity theft, according to a survey commissioned by IBM.
The survey of 1000 US consumers conducted by Opinion Research Corporation found that 14% of respondents have had their personal and/or credit card information stolen. One in ten victims experienced ID theft during a holiday season and nearly 20% of these victims say they plan to shop less online this Christmas as a result.
When asked what would help alleviate their fears over ID theft, nearly half the respondents (49%) said that a fingerprint ID system would be helpful. Two in five (40%) also cited more sophisticated encryption technology and 40% a "dynamic signature pad" that would protect their signature from forgery. One third (32%) believe a device that scans the iris of your eye and matches it to data stored on your card is a good solution to avoid credit card fraud or identity theft.
The research also found that more than a quarter of consumers (27%) believe that credit card companies should be held responsibile for any ID theft, while 15% hold retailers accountable. However, over a quarter (26%) of respondents also believe individuals are also responsible for protecting their own information.