"Australia has never gathered any statistical data before on incidents of ID theft, unlike the United States which has been tracking it for a while," said Australia-based eMarketer senior analyst Ben Macklin.
"It is perhaps too early to draw the conclusion that Australia has a higher per capita level of ID theft," he said. Almost 3% of US respondents surveyed in 2006 by Javelin Strategy & Research said they had been victims of ID theft.
"Perceptions about the dangers of ID theft from Internet transactions are usually far higher than the reality, judging by US data," Mr. Macklin said. He added that offline theft and government misuse of personal information were more common than misuse by online businesses.
Still, only 17% of Australians trusted online businesses to handle their personal information responsibly, compared with 37% for offline retailers, 73% for governmental agencies and 91% for health service providers.
The Australian study also found that many Internet users were still willing to trade their personal data in exchange for discounts or prizes. That is not necessarily an invitation to identity theft but does show a potential vulnerability.
The report "reinforces my view that as individuals we have to take personal responsibility for our own information and just ask questions all the time about why do you need that information, and just be more vigilant," said Karen Curtis, Australia's privacy commissioner, in a statement.
"The bottom line is that governments and businesses associated with the Internet sector have to close the gap between the perceptions of risk and actual risk of Internet usage," Mr. Macklin said. "The cost of fear is particularly significant for e-commerce companies."
