Netizens are only barely aware of the risks some of their activities present in cyberspace, and that could leave them only too prone to online fraud while keeping them from doing things to cut their vulnerability, according to a study about to be released in full by Wells Fargo & Co.
The banking company polled 644 Netizens and 21 industry experts in May, concluding only 22 percent of the Netizens – but 76 percent of the experts – said giving personal information to a financial institution from whom they receive e-mail is "very high risk."
That, St. Louis network security firm Qaddisin president Matthew Tanase told a newspaper, is "very disturbing… the majority of e-mail is unencrypted, so basically anything that you're sending via e-mail can be viewed by anyone else. But most regular users don't grab the fundamentals of computer security – it can be very confusing."
The Federal Trade Commission has said Internet fraud took up 55 percent of the half-million-plus complaints filed in 2003, a 45 percent hike from the year before, with a median victims' loss of $195.
On the other hand, the experts Wells Fargo surveyed did show more confidence than the Netizens about paying bills online – 81 percent of the experts and 46 percent of the consumers said online banking is low risk, while 70 percent of the experts and 41 percent of the consumers said likewise about paying the bills in cyberspace.
