Kaspersky Lab Survey: 44 Percent of People Could not Recover Money Stolen as a Result of Fraud

Woburn, MA – December 18, 2014 – The results of the Consumer Security Risks Survey 2014 by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International showed that nearly half of respondents who lost money in fraudulent online transactions did not get all – or sometimes any – of their funds back. These losses can be significant: the average sum stolen by cybercriminals was $218 and 18% of respondents reported a loss in excess of $1,000.

Although many financial institutions state a willingness to reimburse money lost due to cybercrime, only 56 percent of survey participants globally reported that they could fully recoup their losses. 16 percent of victims received only partial compensation, and 28 percent could not recover any money at all. In the United States, fraud victims were more successful than the global average as 72 percent reported being able to get their money back.  

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that not everyone is fully aware of the danger of cyber fraud: 16 percent of respondents believe that online crimes involving stolen money are rare occurrences that will not happen to them and only 22 percent believe they can be a target of a cyberattack. However, statistics show that about 43 percent of consumers faced financial cyber threats at least once during the previous year.

“Even if you are sure that the financial company or online store will refund any stolen money in the event of online fraud, you should still be cautious. You may indeed get all the money back – although the figures suggest this only happens about half the time – but the time and stress you will suffer are impossible to compensate. That’s why it’s important to pay special attention to the protection of confidential information, including your financial data,” said Elena Kharchenko, Head of Consumer Product Management, Kaspersky Lab.

Internet security solutions like Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 and Kaspersky Internet Security – Multi-Device 2015, include Safe Money technology for Windows and OS X. This technology was developed specifically to provide additional security for online transactions. When a consumer accesses a payment service or is about to make a purchase from an online store, Safe Money authenticates the website certificate against the cloud database, protects the browser from possible malware intrusion, safeguards against snatching screenshots and secures any information entered via the keypad against possible interception by keyloggers.

The Consumer Security Risks Survey study was conducted via an online survey from May to June 2014 with users from 23 countries. A total of 11,135 people aged 16 and over were surveyed. As part of the study, users from different countries answer questions about their knowledge of current cyber threats and about incidents they may have encountered.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 17-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

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Media Contact
Sarah Bergeron
781.503.2615
sarah.bergeron@kaspersky.com

* The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2013. The rating was published in the IDC report "Worldwide Endpoint Security 2014–2018 Forecast and 2013 Vendor Shares (IDC #250210, August 2014). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2013.