Americans worry more about cyber theft than physical assault or burglary, according to a Gallup poll released Monday, which finds hacking atop the list of crimes people fear.
Sixty-nine percent of people frequently or occasionally worry about having their credit card information stolen by hackers, according to the poll. Another 62 percent worry about having their computer or smartphone hacked.
{mosads}The next worry listed in the Gallup poll was home burglary. Forty-five percent said they worry about that, nearly 20 points below cyber crime. Similarly, 42 percent worry about their car being stolen, while 31 percent worry about being mugged.
Other violent crimes fell further down the list. Eighteen percent of people worry about either being murdered or being a victim of sexual assault or a hate crime.
Many have already seen their hacking fears come true. Information on tens of millions of individuals has been stolen from banks and retail giants in hacks. Twenty-seven percent of people said they had information associated with a credit card stolen in the last year.
Wealthy people are more likely to worry about their credit card information being stolen or having their online device hacked. Eighty-five percent of people with a household income of more than $75,000 worry about stolen credit information. Fifty percent of people living in a household that makes less than $30,000 say the same.
People ages 50 to 65 are the most likely to worry about having their credit information stolen at 77 percent. People ages 30 to 45 are the most likely to worry about a hack of their smartphone or computer at 69 percent.
The poll surveyed 1,017 people from Oct. 12-15 and has a 4-percent margin of error.