A false sense of security: 1/3 of Texans vulnerable to online identity theft, finds study
Complacent Texans encouraged to take online security more seriously.
1 in 10 would not report if they fell prey to an online scam.
Online test to check how strong your personal online security is.
Today, you’re never far from a headline about a new phishing scam, or a type of online fraud. Online fraud is responsible for more than $100 billion of private and company losses. But while many of us might pride ourselves on never falling prey to an email from a Nigerian prince asking for help in recovering his multi-million dollar oil fortune, an online test of 2,900 internet users by leading security based review, comparison and news site Security Baron, has revealed how vulnerable we are to online security threats. Overall, respondents in Texas scored an unimpressive 30.6% in the test, which suggests many of us are leaving ourselves wide open to fraud and scams.
Questions included whether internet users use a different password for each account they access with a login, or whether they check for a little padlock icon at the top of their browsers before inputting credit card or bank details when purchasing something; if there isn’t one, it could mean those details will be compromised.
To find you how strong your own online security is, you can take Security Baron’s test (click on ‘embed’ to host). It will provide you with an overall score and suggest how you can improve your online security.
Security Baron also surveyed Texans about their general online security and found some other interesting results; for example, worryingly over 1 in 10 internet users (14%) would NOT report if they fell prey to an online scam, perhaps out of embarrassment. Overall, the majority of those surveyed would rate their efforts to protect themselves online from privacy attacks as ‘adequate’ (26%). A quarter said their efforts were very ‘strong’, 22% said ‘strong’, 21% rated their efforts as ‘poor’, and 5% said ‘very poor’.
Respondents were also asked which type of data they would be most concerned about being leaked online. The results were as follows:
Personal data (45%). This type of data includes things like your date of birth, phone number or social security number.
Financial data (33%). This includes credit card numbers, bank account details, expiry dates etc.
IT Security data (9%), such as app data or log in details.
Legal data (9%) – which would be court hearings or any criminal records.
Health data (4%), such as prescription drug information or medical records.
Thanks to Security Baron for the content.