A Majority Of Americans Say They Have Given Personal Information To A Website They Don’t Trust

Americans Often Give Personal Information To Websites They Dont Trust

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More than half of Americans admit providing critical personal information to a website they didn’t fully trust, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 Americans aiming to uncover just how easily people trust websites with their personal details found that the average American has their credit card information stored on five different websites.

Even more surprising is that the survey found that one in four take less than six seconds to determine if a website is safe enough to share their personal details.

The study, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Forter, an e-commerce fraud prevention company, found that, amazingly, one in ten Americans would sooner trust their personal details with a website they’ve never heard of before than their partner.

Americans, who love to shop online, seem to have no problem giving up information in order to be able to do so, as one in five surveyed said they would happily give a website their social security number in order to shop with it.

And while the average American takes only 30 seconds before determining if a website can safely store their personal details, it’s a lot different in the dating world.

For example, the study found that the average American would only feel comfortable giving their partner their credit card number after ten long months of being together and would also need eight months of being together before discussing any part of their financial situation.

“Consumers expect merchants to keep their personal information safe, and they risk ruining customer relationships if a breach occurs,” said Michael Reitblat, CEO of Forter. “Despite consumers’ willingness to share information with merchants, seventy percent of consumers are concerned about their private details being stolen via a retailers website, according to a previous study of ours. And the more personal information a merchant holds, the more attractive it is for online criminals to attack.”

But it gets even crazier — according to the survey, the average American doesn’t even feel fully comfortable sharing their full name with a partner until three months into the relationship. Perhaps even more unusual, respondents said they would rather share their social security number than their Netflix password if they have been dating for less than half a year.

“Sixty-five percent of consumers would be less likely to shop with a merchant again if their data was breached,” continued Reitblat. “That means that a single breach could put merchants at serious monetary risk. E-commerce companies must put preventative measures in place to ensure that their accounts aren’t being compromised, and the plethora of information their customers are willing to share remains safe.”

WHEN AMERICANS FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING PERSONAL INFO WITH A PARTNER
• Full Name: 3 months
• Birthday: 4 months
• Address: 4 months
• Name of first pet: 5 months
• Name of first teacher: 5 months
• Street you grew up on: 5 months
• Politics: 5 months
• Netflix password: 6 months
• Medical history: 7 months
• Mother’s maiden name: 7 months
• Financial situation: 8 months
• Credit card number: 10 months



Douglas Charles headshot avatar BroBible
Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.