Inside Scoop

BuyerTrust Showcased at Internet Retailer Show Consumer Confidence Lagging in eRetail Space

According to a recent global survey of consumers, U.S. consumers are the most security-savvy but they trust eRetailers' security the least.

Alex Kehayias, Comodo eComemrce product manager, having just returned for the Internet Retailer's Show in Chicago says the demand for BuyerTrust is high and confirms consumers' need for trust in eCommerce transactions. Buyer Trust is a program for eCommerce merchants that provides customers with a free $25,000 Purchase Protection Guarantee.

According to the independent survey, which polled 800 American, British, French, and German consumers it showed nearly 80 percent of the respondents are either "concerned" or "very concerned" about the security of their credit card information. Nearly 55 percent of U.S. consumers said they were more likely to become victims of identity theft than car theft, while two-thirds of British consumers worry that the banks can protect their financial data from rogue insiders. Meanwhile the Brits consider banks the "most trusted" organizations over government and retail.

The survey also showed consumers are more worried about their social security numbers than their credit card data -- but, in reality, credit card theft is a bigger black market today, Credit card theft is much more scalable than PII theft because it's a lot easier for cybercriminals to steal millions of payment card numbers and then send runners in Eastern Europe or Asia to withdraw lots of cash from ATMs over a weekend, compared to using individual social security numbers to open new charge accounts and apply for mortgages, as with identity theft.

The concept of identity theft has firmly entered the consumer psyche -- on a par with street crimes like car theft -- and this is a uniquely 21st century phenomenon. Consumers have gotten accustomed to receiving new cards from our credit card companies every month or two, and that may have something to do with it. Plus the story of Albert Gonzales and his 'biggest cybercrime in history' has been widely reported in the mainstream media.