San Francisco, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/08/2014 --BestIDTheftCompanys.com (BIDTC) recently released new survey results showing how Americans respond to news of major data breaches such as Target, Neiman Marcus and Sally Beauty.

More than 1,000 random surveyors answered the question, “How would you respond to a data breach that you may have been affected by?”

Results are as follows:
- 39.1% - Wait to see if I actually need to worry about it
- 36.3% - Ignore it, doubt the data breach will affect me
- 16.1% - Sign up for identity theft protection
- 5.60% - Sign up for another type of protection
- 3.00% - Other

BestIDTheftCompanys.com's analysis of the survey showed that the majority of surveyors who chose the proactive choices (“Sign up for identity theft protection” or “Sign up for another type of protection”) fit into two specific demographics. People who were more likely to sign up for some form of protection were 45 years old and older and people who made more than $100,000 a year.

“We assume that people who are older and people who make more than $100,000 a year typically have one thing in common--they have more assets,” said website manager Amber Newby. “Because they have more assets, they have more to lose if they were victims of data breaches.”

The other part of the data shows that approximately 75 percent of consumers would not take immediate action to a data breach. Half of those people would completely ignore it and the other half would wait to see if they actually needed to worry about it.

“A little more than one third of respondents would ignore the data breach. Those are the type of people identity thieves and hackers are looking for!” said Newby.

Newby also forecasted other problems that data breaches could cause. She said the lack of people not signing up for protection is a major concern not only for the individuals, but also for the companies that encounter the data breaches. If their customers ignore the breach warnings and end up having identity or financial fraud occur, then the upset customer will go to the responsible company to fix their problems.

This will add more stress to the company, which will in turn lower their reputation and credibility in the customer’s eyes, which could potentially decrease company sales. Companies that face data breach issues should emphasize the importance of protection like Target and Neiman Marcus have by allowing free accounts with an identity theft protection company like Experian’s ProtectMyID.

The few respondents who chose the last option “other” were asked to fill in their own response. Some of the more popular answers include:
- Cancel my credit card(s)
- Contact my bank or financial institution
- Keep a close eye on my bank statements
- Already have appropriate protection

Consumers can find more information and research on data breaches and identity theft BestIDTheftCompanys.com.

Media Contact
Amber Newby
investigate@bestidtheftcompanys.com