Top financial fears for UK revealed

New research from Ocean Finance has highlighted the nation's biggest financial fears, with identity theft and affordability among people's greatest concerns at present.

According to the lender's findings, more than one-quarter of respondents (28 per cent) stated their biggest fear is having their debit or credit cards cloned, while for 25 per cent their top concern is not having enough money each month to pay their bills.

Other high-ranking worries for Brits at present were shown to be being physically mugged for their cash while out and about (15 per cent), not being paid on time and this having an impact on their essential outgoings (7.2 per cent), and putting in the wrong details when carrying out an online banking transaction (6.7 per cent).

Luckily though, the chances of individuals actually suffering any of the above issues are actually much lower than many people fear. For example, while one in seven people are scared of being mugged, in reality the chances of this happening to someone are actually much lower at one in 75.

Online fraud is a growing problem for the UK though, as one in ten respondents to the survey said they had been a victim of cybercrime in the last year.

Spokesman for Ocean Ian Williams commented: "Our finances play such an important role in our lives, it's no wonder so many of us have deep-seated fears about the subject.

"However, there are plenty of things we can do to protect ourselves from many of these common financial fears. For example, using strong passwords and never sharing financial details will make it much harder for a fraudster to take over your account."

He concluded that keeping a close eye on credit reports can also help people to flag any potential problems quickly should they fall prey to frauds like identity theft.

Posted by James Francis