Opinion: Consumers fail to protect against ID theft

Number of new employees added by the Securities and Exchange Commission from December 2002 through to November 2004: 1,070

Number of tips the SEC fields every day about possible securities law violations: 1,000

Number of traditional phone lines in the United States, according to The Yankee Group: 179 million

Number of cell phones in the United States: 178 million

Percentage of CEOs brought in from the outside who are later fired, according to a survey by Booz Allen Hamilton: 55

Percentage of public companies that change leadership each year: 10

Average age of an incoming chief: 54

Percentage of consumers who have had at least one delinquency on their credit file, according to a study by Experian Consumer Direct: 55

Percentage of those who have at least one delinquency in the past year: 35

When CFOs were asked what additional qualifications they look for in candidates of similar skills for an accounting or finance position, the percentage who said industry-specific experience, according to a survey by Robert Half International Inc.: 41

Percentage who said software/technology knowledge: 33

Percentage who said people skills/personality: 1

Percentage of time salespeople believe they spend actively selling, according to Proudfoot Consulting’s annual sales force effectiveness study: 50

Percentage of time the study found sales people spent actively selling: 10

Percentage of time spent prospecting: 10

Percentage of time spent problem solving for customers: 14

Percentage of time taken by “downtime” (personal phone calls and e mails): 17

Percentage of time spent traveling: 18

Percentage of time spent on administration: 31

Number of patents awarded to IBM in 2003, a record for a single company: 3,415

Percentage of respondents ages 18 and above who said abstention from drugs was paramount in determining a sports star’s effectiveness as an endorser of consumer products and services, according to a survey by Knowledge Networks: 53

Percentage who said being a good role model was important: 43

Percentage who said it was important that the athlete should actually use the product: 27

Average size of an American home in 1973, according to the National Home Builders Association: 1,660 square feet

Average size of a home today: 2,320 square feet

Average family size in 1973: 3.11 people

Average family size today: 2.59 people

Percentage of women who say they would like to telecommute to work but feel it would jeopardize their careers, according to a recent study by Catalyst: 23

Percentage of men who say they would like to telecommute to work but feel it would jeopardize their careers: 15

Percentage of American consumers who put themselves at risk for identity theft and phishing by sharing information such as their name, address, postal code, phone number, account number or by giving an answer to a security question in an unsolicited call or e-mail, according to the 2004 Identity Management survey by Electronic Data Systems and the International Association of Privacy Professionals: 70

Percentage of consumers who do not want to change passwords: 61

Percentage who do not want their accounts locked down after three failed attempts to provide identification: 57

Percentage who believe it is worse to endure the inconvenience of being denied access due to a system glitch than it is to be given access without proving identity: 66

Percentage of consumers who expect organizations to have strong identification safeguards in place: 77

Year in which New York City Council passed a law requiring those companies with contracts with the city that exceed $100,000 to offer domestic-partner benefits: 2004

John MacIntyre is an author and former city magazine editor. His Figuratively Speaking column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.

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