Poll: Security breaches help online shoppers kick the habit
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Don't write off the mall just yet. A new USA Today survey shows that nearly a quarter of respondents gave up online shopping because of the nearly constant wave of security breaches that have plagued internet retailers.
Of the 800 polled, 56 percent said they stopped buying from sites they weren't familiar with and stuck to "large, well-known" companies that had a proven track record. Fifty-five percent of respondents also said they were keeping a better eye on their bank statements in light of recent hackings scares.
"It's pretty amazing to me that people were willing to pull the plug on their habits," said Cameron Camp, a security expert. He added, however, that these habits might be temporary. "It's kind of like being on a diet. You're on good behavior for awhile and then you return to whatever you were doing before."
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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