ESET: a quarter of internet users are not at all afraid of fraud

This is supported by a survey conducted at the end of last year by ESET, an international supplier of business and home security software solutions, according to which a quarter of all respondents are not afraid of a possible cyberattack, and within this, every second young person between the ages of 16 and 29 said that they are not afraid of any online threats. Likewise, this age group has the most people who do not use a protection program because they believe that they can filter out suspicious things themselves.

According to the statement, at the same time, ESET’s cybersecurity experts are experiencing that scams that threaten the safety of young people are becoming increasingly sophisticated. For example, a 15-year-old boy downloaded a “free game” extension, but with it a ransomware that encrypted family photos. An unknown boy began to correspond with a teenage girl on social media, and soon demanded money and intimate photos. Another person ordered a pair of discounted shoes based on an advertisement, but the shoes did not arrive and the money was not returned.

According to a previous study by ESET, almost half of the respondents had already been victims of some kind of online fraud or attack, 13 percent had their passwords or accounts stolen, and the same number were victims of viruses, and 11 percent suffered financial losses.

According to experts, attackers often use fake websites and messages to try to steal personal information from young people, and they can even infect familiar online stores with such malicious codes that a single visit to the site is enough to steal the user’s data.

It is also common to receive a fake bill that looks real from a mobile phone or other subscription, but the link leads to a phishing page. Ransomware endangers irreplaceable digital assets and self-created documents, while hidden malware that installs unnoticed can not only encrypt files and steal data, but also render the device unusable.