Australians are falling victim to online identity theft at an alarming rate, a new survey suggests, costing them an estimated $1.3 billion over the past year.
The survey of 2500 Australians found about one in 10 had fallen victim to online identity theft in the past 12 months.
They each lost an average of $1000 as a result, according to the survey compiled by Galaxy Research for VeriSign, a company that sells online security products.
If the survey results are extrapolated nationally, it means 1.37 million Australian internet users have been the victims of fraudsters, costing them $1.3 billion in a single year.
Among the most common methods of identity theft are "phishing" emails, where fraudsters pose as financial institutions to gain users' personal information.
Criminals also commonly rely on emails containing sob stories to dupe users into handing over cash or their bank details.
About 60 per cent of survey respondents said they'd encountered fraudulent emails and websites in the past year.
The survey found complacency was a major factor in identity theft, with Gen Y users the least likely to check for security features before handing over sensitive information.
Some 69 per cent users aged 18-24 admitted they failed to do so every time they gave out information such as bank and credit card details.
People aged over 50 were among the most security savvy, with about 45 per cent regularly checking for online safeguards.
VeriSign said the best way for users to guard against identity theft was to look for security features that are built into legitimate sites and correspondence.
Industry experts have called for a greater onus to be placed on banks and other major online organisations to provide greater visibility of enhanced security measures.
The Internet Safety Institute, founded in 2008 to look at issues facing online consumers, said the message was yet to get through to many online organisations.
"It's in the best interest of organisations that have a major online presence to give Australians the confidence that they have implemented enhanced security methods," founder Alastair MacGibbon said in a statement.
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