Gartner Survey Shows Consumer Trust in Online Commerce

Increasing reports of lost consumer data files and disclosures of unauthorized access to sensitive personal data are taking a toll on consumers' confidence in online commerce, according to Gartner Inc. (www.gartner.com), the world's largest technology research and advisory firm.

The number of consumers receiving phishing attack e-mails increased 28 percent in the 12 months ended in May 2005 compared with 12 months ended in April 2004, according to the Gartner data.

2.4 million online consumers report losing money directly because of the phishing attacks.

Gartner analysts said most online consumers do not open e-mail from companies or individuals they do not know from prior experience. More than 80 percent of U.S. online consumers said their concerns about online attacks have affected their trust in e-mail from companies or individuals they don't know personally.

Phishing attacks are not slowing down. More than 40 percent of the adults who received phishing attack e-mails received them in the two weeks preceding the survey; another 23 percent of respondents said they received these e-mails two weeks before that - so more than 63 percent of consumers who received one of these e-mails did so in the month prior to the survey.

In the survey, nearly twice as many consumers said they worry more about thieves getting undetected access to private credit reports and other sensitive financial data than defending against phishing attacks.

The U.S. government recently mandated that consumers be given unlimited free access to their credit reports by September.

Phishing occurs when a cyber thief sends an e-mail with a link to a false Web site. The false sites typically are disguised to look like sites of banks or well-known e-commerce merchants.

Gartner, Inc. is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry.