Seventeen per cent of UK consumers have stopped using online banking services because of fears about identity theft, according to a survey by US voice automation outfit Intervoice.
The research indicates that worries about security are also beginning to hold back sales, with one-in-five of the sample refraining from telephone shopping and 13% cutting out online retailers.
Over half (57 per cent) of the 1000 adults aged between 16 and 64 polled identified a national ID card scheme as their first or second preferred method of protection from identity theft.
UK consumers also expect business providers such as banks, telephone companies and utilities to invest in greater security. Only ten per cent of respondents said they would buy personal technologies to protect themselves.