One in six fall victim to cyber crime

One in six Brits have been the victim of an online cyber attack, new research has revealed.

Cyber attacks such as phishing emails are becoming increasingly common as people rely more on technology to do everything from shopping to online banking, credit experts Experian have warned.

But despite the high number of victims, some 60% of smartphone users and nearly half (48%) of tablet users admit to not having any malware protection installed on their devices, leaving them vulnerable to online fraudsters.

This compares to a huge 93% of PC owners who have security or anti-virus software installed on their computer.

That said, laptops and PCs continue to the be the most vulnerable devices, with 83% of users falling victim to a cybercrime, while a fifth of smartphone users (21%) and 17% of tablet owners have experienced an attack.

When asked why they haven’t installed protection software on their phone or tablet, 12% said it was because they thought they were automatically provided with protection, 8% said they thought fraud protection is too expensive, while a third (29%) said they weren’t aware that they needed it.

The research also revealed what people access when they use new technology. Nearly half (45%) of smartphone or tablet owners have used their device to check their bank balance, a third (33%) have paid for an item using an online app, while more than a quarter (27%) have used an app to transfer money to another person.

Sourse: Moneywise.co.uk