BWild |
December 24, 2014
A recent report has shown that device users appear to be relatively apathetic about efforts to protect their smartphones.
According to the results of a recent study that were published within a report, users of devices based on both the Android and iOS platforms have a higher fraud rate than the typical consumer, simply because they have not taken adequate mobile security precautions in their overall security and password habits.
Despite the fact that consumers are using their smartphones for transactions with personal data, they appear unconcerned.
Personal identifiable information (PII) is being regularly placed at risk by consumers who are using their smartphones and tablets to conduct a range of different transactions, but at the same time, they appear to be apathetic when it comes to actually taking mobile security measures that would help to protect that sensitive data. A Javelin Strategy & Research study has shown that as a result of this consumer apathy, a world of opportunity has been opening up for cyber criminals.
The mobile security report involved the participation of 5,643 American adults in a survey.
The report on the survey results was entitled “Smartphones, Tablets and Fraud: When Apathy Meets Security”. It was sponsored by Nok Nok Labs, an authentication technology provider. The participants in the study were all from the United States and were all over the age of 18 years.
The insight offered by this report was primarily to do with the increasing reliance of consumers on their mobile devices in order to be able to stay connected, keep up with their social media, access their email, and conduct various forms of transactions through the internet and a range of different apps. It pointed out that any one of those activities can hand cyber-criminals an opportunity with varying degrees of value in terms of personally identifiable information and account data that could either be misused or sold so that someone else could misuse it.
Regardless of this fact, the study showed that many consumers don’t come nearly close enough to taking the necessary efforts to protect themselves against mobile security breaches. The study revealed that about 6 out of every ten mobile device users use the same password over several different accounts on their device. That, alone, offers considerable exposure to cyber threats.
Digital commerce is here to stay and as more people get their hands on mobile devices, the issue of security is becoming more important. Most people have no problem buying things online, so they don’t take time to worry about security. It only takes one misstep to fall prey to exploitation, however, and that could have serious financial consequences. There are some ways you can protect yourself, of course, and it might be worth your time to make sure you’re safe online.
- Be Careful About What You Share
Sharing anything online should be done with caution. Information isn’t always safe, and there are malicious groups out there that would use any information you provide for personal gain. Be careful about sharing personal info with third party groups that claim to represent retailers and be especially cautious about who you share your mobile device with. When you hand over your mobile device, the person using it could easily access any financial information you have stored on it.
- Watch Out For Suspicious Sites
Not all websites are safe. Some exist for the sole purpose of stealing your information by disguising themselves as reputable e-commerce portals. One way to ensure the legitimacy of a website is to look at its URL. If you’re going to make a transaction online, look for the “https” at the beginning of a URL. This means that the site is encrypted, meaning that it has some degree of legitimacy. Even sites with an “https” can be fraudulent, however, either because they’ve been compromised by a malicious group, or for a wide range of other reasons. When in doubt, you can always search a company’s reputation on the Internet.
There are many dangers that lurk in the digital world, and not all of them are readily apparent. Being suspicious of something doesn’t mean you’re being overly paranoid, it just means that you’re being safe. You can find out a lot about a company by looking them up online. If there’s a lack of information online, that may be a sign of trouble. If you’re dealing with an organization you don’t trust, make sure you record all purchase information. This could come in handy if you have to combat a fraudulent charge in the future.
Being safe online can be a time consuming process, but the consequences for not protecting yourself could be much worse than you imagine. For the most part, buying things online is simple and not dangerous in any way, but taking the time to protect yourself could help you avoid problems in the future, especially if you ever attempt to purchase from a company you’re not familiar with.
