It’s never too early to start thinking about saving
money while online shopping over the holidays. E-commerce
has become increasingly prevalent in New Zealand, and many
Kiwi retailers offer transactions through bricks and clicks.
With a whopping 96% of New Zealanders shopping online,
it’s also never too early to start thinking about avoiding
online scams.
A new survey from Norton, a Cyber Safety
brand of Gen, has found that along with the universality of
e-commerce, 20% of online shoppers in New Zealand have
experienced an online shopping scam.
30% of Kiwis shop
online at least weekly, while 33% do so on a monthly basis.
Perhaps it’s not surprising then, that 63% of online
shoppers are concerned about online shopping
scams.
“Our research shows that 61% of Kiwis believe
they know how to verify whether purchasing from a merchant
is safe. Sadly, the number of scams we see in the market
anecdotally tell us that their confidence may be undue,”
says Mark Gorrie, Managing Director APAC,
Norton.
Online shopping not only includes purchasing
from websites, but also encompasses exchanges through social
channels.
In New Zealand, the use of social media is
common with 92% of Kiwis using one or more social apps. 89%
of Kiwis social media users admit to using Facebook, 53% use
Instagram, and 25% use TikTok. Usage is closely followed by
Snapchat (24%), LinkedIn (23%) and Twitter
(17%).
Along with participation in these apps, buying
and selling on social media marketplaces is also widespread.
23% of online shoppers in New Zealand are likely to click on
a link via Facebook or another social media platform to get
a good deal.
Despite social selling’s popularity,
more than half (55%) of Facebook users are concerned about
being scammed on social media marketplaces. Unfortunately,
29% of Facebook users know someone who has been scammed, and
10% have been scammed themselves.
“New Zealanders
are a resourceful bunch. That is due in part to its
location, we all love a good deal, and importing goods can
be pricey. Secondary markets for goods are dominated by
TradeMe and Facebook Marketplace, and many Kiwis like to buy
and sell through these platforms. While there are deals to
be won, the fact is whenever money is involved, scammers
will try to take advantage of people,” says
Gorrie.
Of Kiwis who claim to know how to protect
themselves from marketplace scams, the survey found the top
tactics they use are:
- 84% avoid giving out their
personal information (e.g. bank account or credit card
numbers) - 81% avoid anything that seems too good to
be true - 76% never click links from sources they
don’t trust completely - 66% check out the person’s
profile
“It’s encouraging to see the tactics
Kiwi employ to protect themselves. Vigilance is important
and understanding new tools and applications like Norton
Genie. Recently launched, it’s an AI-powered scam
detection app to help New Zealanders understand and avoid
scams. Just upload a screenshot, or copy and paste the text
message, social media post, email, or website you want
checked,” continues Gorrie.
Lastly, the survey has
also found differences in habits of social media among
Kiwis:
- 82% of female respondents use social media
daily, while only 66% of male respondents engage
daily - 11% of male respondents never use social
media, compared with 5% of female
respondents - Facebook is similarly favoured by males
(87%) and females (91%), and so is LinkedIn (24% males and
22% females)
###
About the 2023 Norton
Cyber Safety omnibus survey
The research was
conducted online in New Zealand by Dynata on behalf of Gen
among 1,020 adults aged 18+. The survey was conducted from 4
July 2023 to 15 July 2023. Data are weighted where necessary
by age, gender, and region to bring them in line with their
actual proportions in the population.
About
Norton
Norton is a leader in Cyber Safety, and part
of Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to
powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer
brands. Norton empowers millions of individuals and families
with award-winning protection for their devices, online
privacy, and identity. Norton products and services are
certified by independent testing organisations including
AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, and SE Labs. Norton is a founding
member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware. Learn more at
www.norton.com.
© Scoop Media
