When asked what their biggest fear is about online scammers, over half of the respondents (55%) were concerned about their money being stolen, compared to less than a quarter who were worried about their identity being stolen.
The poll explored the degree of trust that consumers have in their digital lives as the number of online scams continues to rise during increasingly challenging economic times. Figures from UK Finance show that more than £1.3bn was stolen from victims tricked into authorised push payment fraud (APP) in 2021, with the number of incidents up 27% on the previous year.
APP fraud involves criminals impersonating organisations such as the NHS, banks and government departments via phone calls, texts, emails, fake websites and social media posts to trick people into handing over their personal and financial information which was then used to convince account holders to make a payment.
Spending online, which often involves entering confidential financial details, is a particular concern in Menlo’s poll as many face the prospect of a struggle to make ends meet. Online shopping fraud dominates the list of scams with 44% of respondents worrying about
When asked about the most recent scam message they’d received, 40% of respondents say it appeared to be from a postal or delivery company, while more than a third (37%) say it appeared to be from a public sector source, such as HMRC, the Government or the NHS. These fraudulent sources were much more frequent than banks or utility providers (16%), or friends and family (7%).
It is perhaps no surprise then that people trust friends and family (51%) more than anyone else for online security advice. More so than work colleagues (21%) and news sources (15%). Official sources like the Government and other authorities are the least trusted – with just 13% of votes.
Says Tom McVey Solution Architect, Menlo Security:
“It’s human instinct to warn others about dangers, especially if a friend or family member has been a target of an attack themselves – and many of us have been. Perhaps this is the reason that we trust friends and family over any other authority when it comes to security advice.
“With threat actors trying any tactic that exploits the trust we hold in the services or businesses they impersonate, this caution is understandable. But as individuals, we also need to be taking greater prevention steps to secure ourselves in the first place.”
Reassuringly, the survey found that almost a third of people now use two-factor authentication as the main way of protecting themselves online. This may be due to the vast majority of banks and retailers now requiring a second form of authorisation. But the other results were split almost equally, with around a quarter using other forms of protection, including deleting suspicious links, using virus protection and creating strong passwords.
Click Here For The Original Story
Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued fresh warnings about cryptocurrencies amid Bitcoin's surge to a…
Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear…
By Virma Simonette & Kelly Ngin Manila and Singapore14 March 2024Image source, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime…
Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and…
Reports of suicides, missing bodies, sexual kompromat and emptied bank accounts as fake sangomas con…
A South African woman has been left with her head in her hands after she…