Kaspersky Lab Survey Shows Consumer Carelessness When Making Online Transactions

Woburn, MA – November 26, 2014- According to the Consumer Security Risks Survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, nearly a third of participants are careless when making online transactions. As a result, their actions put their financials at risk and poses problems for banks and e-payment systems if they have to refund their clients’ losses.

Cybercriminals are not only interested in bank account numbers but also login credentials for online banking and e-payment accounts. Yet 31 percent of survey respondents admitted they paid little attention to the security levels of the websites where they enter their personal or financial data. Also one-in-five people take no precautions to protect the passwords used to access these sensitive resources.

“When people ignore safety measures they can fall victim to cybercriminals. However, the banks often end up having to pay for that negligence. With so many careless users, banks and e-payment systems operators must insure themselves against financial and reputational risks by using specialized security solutions that can prevent cybercrime," said Ross Hogan, Global Head of the Fraud Prevention Division at Kaspersky Lab.

In addition, the survey found that 30 percent of respondents store financial data on devices with Internet access. This becomes a high risk since many people do not use security solutions for mobile devices. Of survey participants, only 58 percent of Android smartphones have a security solution installed. Also, low percentages of smartphone and Android tablet owners do not have a password set to lock their devices.

Unfortunately, some people have already encountered attack attempts from cybercriminals. Over the last 12 months, 33 percent of respondents reported that they had received suspicious emails claiming to be from a bank and asking for password or other information, and 14 percent were redirected to web pages that asked for credentials to enter their e-payment accounts.

Consumers are advised to install security solutions, such as Kaspersky Internet Security – Multi-Device. As well as offering general protection against cyber-threats, the solution includes the Safe Money feature that allows users to open banking or shopping websites in a protected mode, verifies that websites are secure and prevents hidden redirects to fake websites attempting to steal personal information.

Kaspersky Fraud Prevention provides specialized solutions that enable banks, payment processors and e-commerce companies to prevent fraud on their online and mobile channels. These solutions proactively protect end users and businesses alike to ensure a secure customer experience. The Kaspersky Fraud Prevention solution suite blocks account takeover and phishing attempts, as well as halting and removing malware infections.

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.

* 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.

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Media Contacts
Sarah Bergeron
781.503.2615
Sarah.bergeron@kaspersky.com