But high percentage have strong awareness of the risks of providing personal information online, study finds

Around half of UK students still do not bother to check their bank statements for signs of fraudulent activity, despite having a strong awareness of the risks of providing personal information online, according to a new study.

The research, conducted by YouGov SixthSense and lifestyle website studentbeans.com, revealed that 80% of students are wary of providing personal information online, with only 7% stating that they are happy to supply personal details on the internet. The risk is of greater concern for female students, with almost three-quarters worried about having details stolen compared with just over half of male students. Despite this, only 52% of students regularly check bank accounts, with a similar percentage disposing of statements by shredding or other secure methods.

Around 1.8 million people in the UK had their identities stolen last year at a cost to the country of £2.7bn, according to a report published by the National Fraud Authority last week.

NFA chief executive Dr Bernard Herdan said that as well as more obvious forms of ID, such as birth certificates, passports and driving licences, fraudsters often look for utility bills, online passwords and account numbers, and personal information, which many people still put on social networking sites. "Stolen and false identities are a significant enabler of crime," he said.

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