Banking on Tradition: Half of Internet Users Still Think Visiting Their Branch is Safer Than Online Banking

Woburn, MA – June 24, 2015 – Many consumers may believe that visiting their bank’s branch is safer than online payments, but that isn’t stopping users from practicing unsecured online banking methods. According to a survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, half (46%) of Internet users believe traditional over-the-counter banking is safer than banking online. However, despite these fears, most people still make some payments online and many fail to take even basic security measures, putting their money and the bank’s reputations at risk.

One of the easiest ways for criminals to access online bank accounts is to pose as the account owner. This can be done by getting information about the account, setting up a phishing page where users unwittingly hand over their usernames and passwords, or by intercepting username and password data with a banking Trojan when users log on to their bank’s legitimate pages. Traditional computers and mobile devices are both vulnerable to these attacks.

The survey shows that a significant number of users (49%) feel vulnerable when making financial transactions online. Moreover, half (54%) reported they believe making payments offline is more reliable than online and 46% agreed that offline banking is the safer than online banking.

However, in spite of these fears, the majority of Internet users make online payments: 79% of those surveyed use their desktops or laptops for online payments, 52% use their tablets, 45% use their smartphones and 12% of Smart-TV owners admitted using their Smart-TV for such operations. At the same time, according to the survey, one in five users do nothing to protect their financial data online.

“If customers choose traditional over-the-counter banking, from fear of falling victim to Internet fraud, it will hamper the adoption of high-margin online and mobile payment systems. This will force banks to invest more of their resources in low margin branches instead. Meanwhile, among those who have adopted online and mobile payments, there is a persistent security concern as they may be putting their money – and the bank’s reputation – at unnecessary risk. That is why today it is vital that banks invest in technology ensuring a secure banking environment for their customers. This approach will not only reassure customers who prefer in-branch banking that online and mobile banking is secure, it will also reduce the risk for careless customers, who might otherwise lose important financial data,” said Ross Hogan, Global Head of the Fraud Prevention Division at Kaspersky Lab.

One solution to this problem is Kaspersky Fraud Prevention, a multilayered protection platform designed specifically for banks. Kaspersky Fraud Prevention secures the financial data on customer devices, thereby increasing user loyalty and reducing the risks of the bank having to investigate incidents, pay compensation, and restore its reputation after a security breach. The platform can protect the owner of almost any device, be it a Windows PC, Mac, Windows Phone, Android or iOS.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Labis one of the world’s fastest-growing cybersecurity companies and the largest that is privately-owned. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users (IDC, 2014). Since 1997 Kaspersky Lab has been an innovator in cybersecurity and provides effective digital security solutions and threat intelligence for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab is an international company, operating in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 400 million users worldwide. Learn more atwww.kaspersky.com.

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Media Contact
Stephen Russell
781.503.1833
stephen.russell@kaspersky.com