Washington, Mar 20 (ANI): Most people are willing to pay to be protected from identity theft, according to a new study.
A new four-state survey conducted by Florida State University criminologists found that two-thirds of the respondents were willing to pay about 87 dollars per year for a government-sponsored program promising to reduce identity theft by 75 percent.
Even when offered an option that promised only a 25 percent reduction in the crime, 40 percent of the respondents were still willing to pay for the service.he respondents were located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Washington.
"Our survey of households reveals that most individuals will agree to a small tax increase to support government-sponsored identity theft prevention efforts," said lead author Nicole Leeper Piquero, an associate professor in the Florida State University College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
"Because of our increasing reliance on technology, and given the resourcefulness of hard-to-catch identity thieves, it seems likely that most if not all of us will at some point be victims of this crime or know others that have been," she added.
The survey, conducted by Piquero and her spouse, Florida State criminologist Alex R. Piquero, was based on two hypothetical models of government-sponsored, identity theft prevention programs.
The more ambitious model proposed to reduce the occurrence of identity theft from a level of 40 out of 1,000 adults (based on 2004 U.S. statistics) to 10 out of 1,000 per year-a reduction of 75 percent.
The less ambitious model would reduce the annual identity theft level by 25 percent-from 40 to 30 out of 1,000 adults.
The "40-10" model was presented to half the respondents; the rest were asked to consider the "40-30" proposal.
After considering the particular model offered to them, respondents were asked if they would be willing to pay 100 dollars per year if every household also was charged that amount to help reduce identity theft.
Those who answered 'yes' were asked if they would be willing to pay 200 dollars for the same program.
Those who said 'no' to 100 dollars were asked if they would pay 50 dollars.
"Most people don't realize the annual cost of identity theft approximates or exceeds that of many other more 'traditional' crimes such as robbery or motor vehicle theft," said Alex.
"Given the cost estimates associated with identity theft, a benefit-cost analysis might be useful to policymakers faced with making tough choices among an array of programs in a period of limited resources," he said.
The study is published in the Justice Quarterly. (ANI)
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