January 20, 2024, 3:03 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
The internet offers many opportunities–unfortunately, also for criminals. Whether phishing or fraud in online commerce, many users have now had their own experiences in this regard.
Current figures show that a large portion of people who regularly use the internet have encountered cybercrime. The range is as vast as the number of scams.
Current Survey on Cybercrime
Most internet users have dealt with cybercrime at some point, according to a survey by Bitkom Research. Bitkom is a German industry association that regularly conducts such studies. The current survey refers to the year 2023. According to it, 67 percent of respondents who are online said they had fallen victim to a criminal scheme.
Although this is a smaller percentage compared to the previous year, when 75 percent reported being victims of cybercrime in 2022, the numbers are still high.
The most common method was phishing, which involves attempting to obtain personal information like passwords via email, text message, or phone call. About one-third of cybercrime victims were affected by this (35 percent). Online shopping fraud ranks second (30 percent), followed by severe insults on the internet (26 percent). Fortunately, one-third of those affected did not suffer financial loss from the fraudsters. For those who did report a loss, it averaged 262 euros.
How to Protect Yourself Effectively
Most of those affected also stated that they did not report the incident to the police. According to the survey, only 14 percent reported the incident to authorities. This is often due to a high threshold, especially when the financial damage is limited. Additionally, reports often have little chance of success.
However, nearly half (48 percent) said they contacted the company through whose platform the criminal activities took place. This can already be an important and effective step. There are also preventive measures to avoid crimes in the area of cybercrime.
Tips for recognizing phishing emails are also available in the video:
Obvious and easy to implement are secure passwords. Do not always use the same password and take corresponding security warnings seriously. For example, iPhones will inform you if your password is no longer secure. Additionally, an active virus protection should always be installed, and users should always install software updates promptly.
Especially in the area of phishing, many respondents reported an offense. Therefore, one should always be skeptical of unusual messages from supposed family members, colleagues, or official bodies. If in doubt, verify personally with the sender. And especially in the area of banking, remember: no reputable institution will ask you to disclose personal data via email. By reporting such messages to consumer protection agencies, you also help raise awareness of these fraud schemes.
For the survey, 1,018 internet users aged 16 and older were interviewed by phone.
With material from dpa.