Nearly a Third of Users Do Nothing to Protect Online Payments

Woburn, MA – September 30, 2015 – A recent test conducted by Kaspersky Lab has shown that many users do not know or typically do not exercise basic security practices when making online payments or using online banking systems. For example, the test found that only half of users (51%) check if a website is authentic before entering their financial details, while almost a third (29%) do not take any precaution measures while making an online purchase.

The online test, completed by more than 18,000 users, included a number of potentially dangerous situations that users often encounter on the Internet, including online financial operations. Participants were asked to select one of four fictitious banking sites to enter their account details. Only 51% of the participants were able to recognize the truly secure site with an unmodified name (changes to an organization’s name is a common sign of a phishing site) and the “https” prefix indicating an encrypted connection. Moreover, 5% of respondents selected sites with a misspelt address, which suggests they are potentially fake pages created to steal financial data from users.

Survey participants were also asked what steps they would take before entering their financial data to make an online payment. The test results found that 51% of respondents said they verify the authenticity of a site. In addition, 21% of those surveyed use a virtual keyboard to protect their passwords from interception by malware, while 20% check if their security solution is working properly to ensure the payment is secure from any outside interference.

Almost a third of consumers (29%) said they would take no additional action because "the websites of big, well-known companies are sufficiently protected." However, in most cases, even a protected site cannot guarantee that cybercriminals will not interfere in the payment process or that a device is not infected by a malicious program designed to steal money. In addition, some people said they would take actions that unfortunately do nothing to protect their financial information. 11% of respondents would use "incognito" mode to protect a payment, 4% would resort to an anonymizer and 7% of those surveyed would repeatedly enter and wipe the data "to confuse viruses."

It turned out that some consumers also do not take the necessary steps to protect their payment details in the real world. The test found that 20% see no problem in letting their bank card out of their sight when paying in a restaurant, thereby giving fraudsters a chance to make a copy.

"These figures reinforce what has long been observed – many users still are not only endangering themselves and their money but also the banking and payment system businesses they use. Dealing with incidents, even if they are caused by inexperienced users, can consume considerable resources and have a negative impact on a company’s reputation. User confidence in companies doing everything possible to protect them from online fraud imposes a great deal of responsibility. That means the use of specialized security against online theft is becoming a necessity," said Ross Hogan, Global Head of the Fraud Prevention Division at Kaspersky Lab.

The Kaspersky Fraud Prevention platform allows banks to protect financial data and prevent fraud even if users don’t exercise typical cybersecurity practices when dealing with money online. The bank has the option of installing a protection solution directly on customer devices, including mobile devices, or using platform components that can remotely detect if a device is infected by malware designed to steal money.

To provide additional protection for online payments, users should install solutions such as the Safe Money technology for Windows and Mac OS X integrated in Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Total Security. This technology goes beyond the standard protection from online threats, and creates a special secure environment to conduct financial operations that is inaccessible to fraudsters.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is 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 at www.kaspersky.com.

For the latest in-depth information on security threat issues and trends, please visit:

Securelist | Information about Viruses, Hackers and Spam
Follow @Securelist on Twitter

Threatpost | The First Stop for Security News
Follow @Threatpost on Twitter

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