New Zealanders are more concerned with identify theft than other forms of personal, financial, national or internet security.

According to the Unisys Security Index for April a majority of New Zealanders – 56 per cent, versus 57 per cent in December 2006 – were concerned about other people obtaining and using their credit and debit card details, while 53 per cent worried about unauthorised access to or misuse of personal information.

The poll was conducted for Unisys by Consumer Link and surveyed 500 people aged 18 and over.

It found that the overall Security Index remained largely unchanged from results recorded last year confirming New Zealanders' relatively relaxed attitudes to security overall. The Index remains little changed at 113 in April 2007 compared to 110 recorded in December 2006.

"While New Zealanders exhibit a relatively relaxed mood overall in regard to security, concerns about identity theft continue to remain relatively high," said Unisys spokesman Graham Alston.

"It is clear that the protection of personal and private information is a high priority for New Zealanders in 2007."

The top concerns of New Zealanders centre on fears about identity theft and financial fraud:

But the survey also found that nearly one third of New Zealanders always threw bank and credit card statements in the rubbish without destroying them, despite this being one of the key risk factors in identity theft.

North Islanders were more fearful of a health epidemic than South Islanders, with 33 per cent of New Zealanders living in the North Island say they were either extremely or very concerned about the prospect of a health epidemic compared to 15 per cent of their South Island counterparts.

Full-time workers were more concerned about financial fraud, with 59 per cent concerned about others obtaining their credit or debit card details compared to 48 per cent of New Zealanders who don't work at all.