Scam Victims Still Willing To Share Personal Details Online For A Bargain

By   ISBuzz Team
Writer , Information Security Buzz | Nov 23, 2022 07:00 am PST

According to Wales Online, More than 10 million Brits have fallen victim to online shopping scams, it has been revealed, as 19 million UK shoppers prepare to embark on the biggest bargain hunts of the year. Research from cybersecurity company NordVPN has shown that 20.7% of UK adults have been scammed while shopping online — equivalent to 10.6 million people. Millions of UK consumers are prepared to offer up a treasure trove of personal information in exchange for an extra reduction or freebie — and those who have already been scammed are at the front of the queue. Of those who have previously experienced a scam, many admit they’d still be prepared to hand over a bunch of bizarrely irrelevant information to get a big discount or freebie. One in ten (12.1%) would hand over their credit card details, 4.3% would give their National Insurance number and one in ten (11.1%) would reveal where they worked. A further 3.9% would even reveal their children’s names for the chance to bag an extra bargain. Those willing to disclose their credit card number were 57% more likely to have been scammed, while people willing to hand over their NI number were 40% more likely to have been victims. All told, 94.2% of scam victims are still willing to hand over at least some personal data to land a bonus gift, discount or free service.

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Jake Moore
Jake Moore , Global Cyber Security Advisor
November 23, 2022 3:02 pm

People are seemingly becoming increasingly more desensitised in giving away their personal information and do not believe that the sensitivity of the data will cause them issues in the future. This is a worrying state of mind and could cause financial attacks or identity thefts from a lack of security on personal data. This ‘it won’t ever happen to me’ attitude can make it very easy for cybercriminals to attack businesses and people in search of their data, accounts or financial information such as credit cards. It is vital that people limit the amount they release to shopping sites, particularly those used in Black Friday deals where they may be using a site for the first and only time. Phones now make it easy to generate passwords making it easy for those having to make accounts and it’s also advised to use a burner email address where possible. Apple even offer to hide your email address which is a great feature to protect users.

Last edited 1 year ago by Jake Moore

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