Having few passwords for multiple online accounts leaves one at mercy of hackers

London - Having a few selected passwords for multiple online accounts leaves one vulnerable to hacking, a new report has revealed.

A new research revealed that the spiralling number of Internet accounts is behind a dramatic rise in online fraud, as using the same password, across an email account and an online banking account, can leave people's accounts at the risk of getting hacked.
 
According to figures from credit checkers Experian, online fraud has increased three fold since 2010, when 9.5 million pieces of information were traded illegally, which cover everything from banking to utility bills to social networks, with 25 to 34-year-olds signing up to an average 40 accounts.
 
"The problem is that most people don't realise there is huge market for login credentials - email and password combinations," the Daily Mail quoted Peter Turner, Managing Director at Experian Consumer Services, as saying.
 
"These outnumber sales of credit card details by nine to one because they give access to a huge amount of other valuable information, such as address books and related accounts," he added.
 
The number is reportedly also set to grow, with nearly one in five people (17 percent) signing up to six or more new accounts every month.
 
The research found that six in 10 adults, or 66 per cent, admit to having defunct profiles that hold valuable personal and financial information, including social network profiles, 26 per cent, email addresses, 18 per cent and shopping accounts, 21 per cent.
 
It also claimed that almost one in four of the 2,000 people quizzed use a single password for the majority of accounts and one in 20 stick with the same login details for all their accounts.
 
Experian revealed that fraudsters in the UK illegally reportedly traded more than 12 million pieces of personal information online in the first four months of 2012 alone.