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Three-quarters of Britons fall foul of internet scams
9 Jun 2009Three-quarters of Britons have been targeted by internet scams during the past year, a survey showed today.
Around 77% of people said they had received phasing emails, under which fraudsters try to trick consumers into revealing their account details and passwords by sending emails that appear to be from their bank.
Seven out of 10 people also said they had received emails asking for money, while 67% had been told they had won a lottery or competition that did not exist, according to life assistance company CPP.
Around 17% of those questioned said they had also received emails from people claiming to be acquaintances or relatives in a bid to con them into handing over money or revealing personal information.
Seven out of 10 people said they worried that fraud will increase because of the economic downturn, while 64% said they had received more unsolicited emails during the past 12 months than during the previous year.
Recent figures from payment industry body APACS show online banking fraud losses soared by 132% during 2008, compared with the previous year, to £52.5 million.
Michael Lynch, identity fraud expert at CPP, said: "Cyber criminals now operate in very sophisticated ways.
"Although we are seeing very high levels of phishing email attacks asking for passwords and account details, we are now seeing more 'malware' attacks such as key-logging, where fraudsters can read what you type on your computer to capture your passwords and other sensitive financial information without you even knowing.
"People need to be vigilant and make sure that they have the proper security in place such as up-to-date anti-virus software."
Reader views (8)
It would be very interesting to know how these people obtain the names and addresses of the people they scam?
Last year I returned from Spain and almost immediately was told I had won money in a lottery I had never entered!! If only these lotteries existed!!
- Jonathan Montmorency, cooden, uk, 09/06/2009 15:22
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TARGETTED BY
is not the same as
TAKEN IN BY
I'm surprised its only 75% that get phishing spam
- Kedge, marlboro wilts, 09/06/2009 14:55
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Someone took $50 from my Paypal account at the weekend. I did nothing to allow that to happen. They must have hacked the account. What am I supposed to do to prevent that. I hadn't even used the account for ages, so its not as if malware read my keying in of details.
- Prototypical Englishman, Wormwood Scrubs, 09/06/2009 13:57
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If it seems to good be true it generally is !
Some people need to be taught a lesson for being plain stupid, hopefully the penny will drop next time
- Simon, Hanworth, 09/06/2009 13:40
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I've been conned/robbed twice using the internet. Both times it was via Ebay.
- Mark, South-East London, 09/06/2009 13:03
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The people who generate these scams are appealing to our basic instinct of GREED. If people would just stop and think and use a little common sense, they would see through the scam merchants and what they claim to be peddling.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 09/06/2009 11:49
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I am astounded. Do three quarter of the population live in a sealed bubble, through which information doesnt penetrate? Or is this a basic intelligence issue?
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, 09/06/2009 09:42
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Only three-quarters? I'm pretty sure it's nearer 100%. I get them in my junk email box on an almost daily basis, as does everyone I have asked. Can't believe anyone would fall for any of these scams, but apparently the few that do, make it worthwhile for the scammers to continue doing it.
- Yvonne, Doncaster, UK, 09/06/2009 09:41
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