Easy access to online shopping in combination with poor security habits puts consumer financial information at risk
Woburn, MA – December 19, 2018 – Kaspersky Lab today released a new report, which revealed that one-in-three people (32%) who shop online experienced a financial incident in the past year, despite the vast majority of shoppers (93%) stating that they are aware of the danger of financial cyber-threats. With millions of people making purchases online this holiday season, this research sought to examine consumers’ attitudes and habits towards their money and digital security.
Online shopping is one of the most popular internet activities for consumers today. The holidays in particular are a time of unrestrained shopping for many, starting with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November, and continuing throughout January with post-holiday sales. However, this means that cybercriminals targeting consumers’ banking credentials or online shopping accounts could also hit the jackpot this season.
Kaspersky Lab’s research found that half of people (52%) are worried about being vulnerable when purchasing products or making financial transactions online. These concerns, unfortunately, are well founded, as just 20 percent of respondents stated that they know what to look for to verify a payment website’s security. Furthermore, these threats can have significant consequences; out of the 32 percent of shoppers who have had financial credentials compromised in the last year, a quarter (26%) of them were never refunded their money.
Faced with a seemingly endless supply of e-commerce sites, it’s no surprise that many shoppers struggle to keep all of their online payment login information under control. Just 48 percent of people said that they are able to remember login details for all of the websites where they have made an online payment. Additionally, with the rise of subscription services that offer easy access to television shows, clothes and more for a monthly fee, some shoppers are also losing track of their spending on these sites. A third of people (32%) surveyed said that they do not always remember every service or automated payment to which they have subscribed.
To help consumers find and remember payment details, one-in-five (20%) store this information on their devices. While this can make submitting credentials more convenient when shopping online, it can also put the user at significant risk of losing their money if this information is stored in an insecure way, such as in the smartphone’s notes functionality.
“The end of the year and the holiday season is a wonderful time when people are buying presents for their families and friends – but no one wants to have this time spoiled by losing money through unsafe transactions or online fraud,” said Marina Titova, head of consumer product marketing, Kaspersky Lab. “We should all be very attentive to our financial data and online payments, taking care to avoid putting our bank card credentials on untrusted web sites or making payments from unsecured devices.”
To make online shopping safer, Kaspersky Lab recommends using a cybersecurity solution that can protect online transactions and keep bank accounts safe:
- Kaspersky Security Cloud protects your credit card details by opening a secure browser whenever you buy online, and by auto-filling your payment details only when a site is verified as secure.
- Kaspersky Password Manager is designed to protect online login information, as well as financial details, by securely storing passwords, PINs and payment credentials. With the master passcode, consumers can then access these details at any time, from any device.
More results from the report “From festive fun to password panic: Managing money online this holiday season” are available on our website.
About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company, which has been operating in the market for over 21 years. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into next generation security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.
Media Contact
Meghan Rimol
meghan.rimol@kaspersky.com
781.503.2671
