Many in NZ now fear identity theft

Eighty-one percent of New Zealanders are happy to use fingerprint scans to prove their identity and 68% are willing to have their eyes scanned.

The figures - from the Unisys Security Index survey issued today by information technology company Unisys - show that more than half of participants fear identity theft.

Police statistics show that in the year to June 2008 there were 1100 misuses of identity involving almost 500 fictional and genuine identities - figures police say are a "fraction" of what is really going on.

The survey, conducted last month with 506 participants, revealed 60% were happy to use biometrics to confirm their identity.

It was the first time in the survey's three-year history that fingerprint and iris scans proved significantly more popular than pin code and password security measures.

Participants also favoured facial scans (48%), vein pattern scans (44%) and voice pattern recordings (34%).

"Given the high level of concern about identity and financial fraud issues, it is not surprising that New Zealanders are so keen to use sophisticated biometric technology as a means of proving their identity," Unisys New Zealand's managing director Brett Hodgson said.

Overall, concerns around national, financial, internet and personal security had dropped after a sharp increase in fears earlier this year, he said.

But the top three areas of concern were all related to identity theft. They were: Other people obtaining credit card or debit card details, unauthorised access to or misuse of personal information, and the security of shopping and banking online.

Twenty-two percent of people were seriously concerned about the ability of the Government to protect information and 26% were concerned about financial service providers' ability to do so.