Those of you who follow this spot likely know that I really enjoyed Sproule and Archer's wonderful report titled, "Measuring Identity Theft in Canada: 2008 Consumer Survey". I mention it quite frequently and this will be my second article about that enlightening article.

Identity theft has been in the news a whole lot lately. Conficker got everyone interested in online security and, when it comes to online security, identity theft is one of the most compelling topics available. This is an incredibly positive first step - we cannot solve problems that we do not know about, nor can we protect ourselves from threats we are not even aware of.

The Sproule and Archer report demonstrates that one third of respondents are more concerned about identity theft than they were one year ago. Because of this concern, people are demonstrating more proactive behaviours to protect themselves. For example, 79% of respondents shred important financial documents. And, 75% of respondents use hard-to-break passwords.

The problem though is that fear can actually become crippling. The Sproule-Archer report indicates that 20% of consumers have curbed (or completely eliminated) the amount of shopping they do online. That means that one in five people are so concerned about their security that they are not fully taking part in the wonders of e-commerce. Sad stat, isn't it?

Hopefully these people will buy SmartSwipe and start using it. Not only because I work for the company that makes SmartSwipe, but because online shopping is truly a wonderful thing. The enhanced choice, and the opportunity to access more information make online shopping a wonderful tool.

It is wonderful to know that people are learning about identity theft and taking steps to protect themselves. And it is even more wonderful to know that we finally have a tool that will protect people while they are shopping online.