29 November 2007
Payments association APACS has released the results of a new consumer poll regarding the recent security lapse at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The survey conducted for the association by YouGov suggested that the 7.25 million families affected by the leak - which could open the door to credit card fraudsters - were stepping up the security measures with which they protect their finances.
One in ten had changed security passwords as a result of the news - and 6% had even changed their PINs.
Even more encouragingly, a clear majority (62%) said that they had taken the basic precaution of checking their bank statements for anomalies since last week's security lapse.
APACS director Sandra Quinn said: "There is no need for bank customers to do any more than be extra vigilant, as there is still no evidence that the data has fallen into criminal hands [and] we continue to urge customers to do the simple security checks that they should be doing anyway.
"The YouGov survey shows that customers have not panicked and most seem to have followed the advice issued."
The HMRC originally lost the personal details of the families of all child benefit recipients in the UK - some 25 million people - due to two data discs being going missing within the organisation's internal postage system.
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