S’poreans lost about $1.2 billion to cyber scams in 2011
6 September 2012 6:10 PM | Updated 10:01 PM
Every second, 18 adults fall prey to cybercrime – yes, even you in Singapore.
In the last year alone, more than 1.4 million people in Singapore lost S$1.18 billion to cyber criminals. The global price tag is S$137 billion. And that is not including the cost of lost time. These are the figures extrapolated from this year's Norton Cybercrime Report, commissioned by security solution-maker Norton by Symantec.
It warns that cybercriminals are also increasingly targeting social networks and mobile devices to prey on unsuspecting users. The findings, presented at a press briefing today, is based on a survey in July this year of about 13,000 online adults (adults who go online) from 24 countries who are aged 18 to 64.
And don’t think it is the weaker sex that fall prey. Worldwide, cybercrime victims are most likely to be male (71 per cent) and born after the year 2000 (75 per cent). Women account for 63 per cent, and baby boomers, 56 per cent. The victims are also most likely to be mobile internet and social network users, the report cited.
Cybercrime is defined as falling prey to online scams, online credit card fraud, hackers of email or social network accounts, identity theft, among others. It also includes being a victim of online bullying, harassment and hate crime. From Singapore, it found that almost half - 48 per cent - of adults who go online have experienced cybercrime in the last 12 months.
And for those who use social networks, 36 per cent of these users have been victims of social cybercrime, according to the report. (See definition of social cybercrime below.)
Mr Effendy Ibrahim, internet safety advocate and Asia director of Symantec's Norton, told technology news website ZDNet that incidents of credit card fraud (10 per cent) and identity theft (8 per cent) among Singaporeans were higher than that of the global average.
These two crimes generated much of the cybercriminal revenue, as opposed to viruses, malware, and online harassment, he said. The survey also showed that three out of 10 Singaporeans still did not understand the risk of cybercrime or how to protect themselves online. More than half were not certain if their computer is virus-free.
Another 36 per cent did not know a virus or malware could act in a discreet way to make it difficult to detect. Some 55 per cent agreed that unless their computer crashed or slowed, it was difficult to know if their computer was infected with a virus or malware.
As a basic precaution, online users are advised to protect their mobile device with a password or security solution in case they lose it, and not to access personal emails via free public or unsecured wifi.
Mr Effendy said in a Today newspaper report: "Personal email accounts often contain the keys to your online kingdom. Protect your email accordingly by using complex passwords and changing them regularly."
Risky behaviour include doing these activities on unsecured wifi:
- shopping online
- accessing personal email or social network account
- accessing bank account
Risky behaviour on social network sites:
- Not logging out after each session
- Not checking links before sharing
- Not using privacy settings
- Accepting friend requests from people they do not know
Social cybercrime is defined as any of the following on social networking sites:
- being harassed and bullied by or had inappropriate content posted about you
- responded to a phishing or fake message or website trying to get your personal details such as passwords and bank account numbers.
- clicking on a link or ‘like’ that took you to a blank page, or reposted itself automatically into your account
- fallen for a scam or clicked on a fake link
Mobile cybercrime is defined as:
- responding to an unsolicited SMS text message which captured your personal details
- phone is infected and text message sent from your phone without permission or knowledge that later incurred payment
