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CONSUMERS ARE now far more wary about giving retailers their personal information. More than half (52 percent) of Canadians surveyed resist automatically providing personal information such as their name, address, and phone number when asked by retailers, according to a recent report issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Forty-five percent of those surveyed said they have refused to provide this information altogether, and 13 percent claimed to have deliberately provided incorrect information. Respondents who resisted or declined to provide their information indicated a number of concerns, including the safety of putting information online, identity theft, and fraud, the study says.