53% of European users were confronted with an attempted online financial theft in 2014, reveals new research by computer security solutions provider Kaspersky Lab and B2B International. According to the research, one in two Europeans experienced financial cyberattacks in the past year, with 5% of respondents reporting losing money.
As for the method through which they fell victim, 23% of users said that hackers stole their money by gaining access to payment service accounts, 5% that they were tricked into entering their login details on a fake website, and 10% that their login details were intercepted by malware. On average, users who fell victim to online theft lost $313, but one in six victims lost more than $1,000 due to online fraud.
However, apart from the money, as emphasized in the study, digital criminals acquire valuable data from users through various methods. The fastest way to «penetrate» their wallets is to gain access to the accounts that users have in payment systems, online banking services or electronic stores that store credit or debit card data.
Among the many techniques they use to collect such information are also the «phishing» (phishing) websites, which mimic official sites, malicious software that gathers data and passwords, etc.
«Some users think that digital threats are something distant, that can only harm someone in cyberspace. However, many online threats have clear real-life impacts, whether it's data loss or stolen money. Instead of paying the consequences, it's wiser to take care of security beforehand», said Elena Karatsenko, head of consumer products at Kaspersky Lab.
It is noted that for the purposes of the research, no sample was taken from Greek internet users.
Source: newsbeast.gr
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