Consumers in the US plan to shop more online this holiday season, despite concerns about falling victim to cyber-scams. A survey conducted by global software McAfee found that 36% of US consumers plan to buy gifts online this year, despite 60% feeling that cybercriminals will exploit the holiday season to trick unsuspecting victims into cyber-scams.
The findings were included in McAfee's "2020 Holiday Season: State of Today's Digital e-Shopper" study , which was published a few days ago. McAfee commissioned 3Gem to conduct a survey of 1,000 adults over the age of 18 in the U.S. between October 8 and October 13.
As Infosecurity Magazine reports, last year during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, over 124 million consumers chose to shop in physical stores. But now that countries around the world are grappling with the COVID-19, consumers are shopping online .
The survey revealed that 49% of Americans said they have been doing most of their shopping online since the global pandemic began. 18% said online shopping is now a part of their daily routine, while 34% shop online 3-5 days a week.
Additionally, 27% of respondents aged 18 to 24 said they checked the authenticity of discounts and offers sent to them via email and text messages. Notably, 43% said they would check to see if emails and texts they received in the run-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday were reliable and genuine.
Cybercriminals and fraudsters are taking advantage of the fact that people are increasingly shopping online during this time. Consumers need to be aware of how these malicious actors will try to take advantage and take the necessary steps to protect themselves during the holiday season.
