Meet with a psychiatrist or psychologist without first knowing whether he or she is required to share therapy notes with your managed-care provider. Send an e-mail you wouldn't mind seeing on the front page of your local newspaper or posted on the office bulletin board. Type in your credit-card number or other confidential information online unless both you and the person with whom you are communicating use software that encrypts your message. Say anything on a cell phone you wouldn't want a gossip or your boss to hear. Privacy fears are widespread and growing.
Women feel more threatened than men do.
You worry most about a loss of financial privacy. Your biggest privacy fear is the sale of your Social Security number or other sensitive personal identifiers like unlisted phone numbers. Victims pay a steep price. Most Americans who have experienced a serious invasion of privacy feel helpless. One in five says he or she suffered humiliation, anxiety or personal strain as a result.