Majority of Irish adults targeted by scams yet don't take security steps, research shows
Eva Osborne
The majority of consumers (78 per cent) are now being targeted with scam texts, emails, or calls at least once a month, but less than one third are taking basic online security steps, according to new research from FraudSMART.
Almost half of Irish adults (45 per cent) report being targeted with more scam communications than the same time last year, with the main channels used by scammers being mobile phone texts and calls.
The research was undertaken as part of a major new FraudSMART awareness campaign See the Scam behind the Screen, ed by Google, to highlight the uptick in and dangers of social engineering tactics which now underpin the majority of frauds and scams and are increasingly being used by criminals to groom or manipulate victims into transferring money or divulging personal and financial details.
Other key findings from the research show include the main channel for scam communications being mobile phones (58 per cent encountered scam text messages and 52 per cent scam calls on mobile). Almost half (48 per cent) encountered scam emails.
Just over half of mobile phone s are taking important scam prevention measures including blocking suspicious numbers (58 per cent) and ignoring unsolicited phone calls or messages/calls from unrecognised numbers (55 per cent and 53 per cent respectively).
However, when asked about clicking on links in text messages, social media or instant messenger only 53 per cent reported proactively never clicking on such links.
Concerningly less than one third of consumers are taking basic online security precautions when online. Only 32 per cent saidthey check for the ‘https’ at the beginning of a web address
Just 27 per cent said they use secured internet rather than public wi-fi and only 27 per cent said they checked there is a padlock image at the beginning of the web address on the checkout page when making a purchase online
Only 26 per cent visit a website of a company as opposed to clicking through to the website via links on social media or pop-up adverts.
Speaking on the publication of the research and the launch of the new FraudSMART/Google campaign, head of financial crime at BPFI, Niamh Davenport, said: “With our latest research clearly demonstrating the high frequency and increasing volumes with which consumers are being targeted with various types of scam communications, it is also evident that there is still a distance to travel in ensuring we are all fully alert to and taking the key preventative steps necessary in order to protect ourselves from the barrage of scams being continuously levelled at us via texts messages, emails and social media.
“One of the common threads running through all these scams and frauds is what is known a social engineering, which is the focus of our latest FraudSMART awareness campaign which we have launched today with Google, and which encomes a major advertising and information drive to encourage consumers to pause and question what is really going on behind the screen when you receive a suspicious text or social media message, phone call or email.”
“Social engineering tactics are now used across practically all sophisticated fraud and scams, enabling criminals to groom and manipulate people into transferring money or divulging personal or financial details.
"These types of deception tactics see fraudsters using phishing emails, fake offers or impersonation posing as someone from a genuine organisation such as your bank, utility or delivery company or even a government department.
"The scams play on human emotions such as trust, fear or sympathy tricking the victim into believing they are communicating with a legitimate source. Added to this we now have the rapid growth of generative AI technology which has the potential to supercharge financial fraud and social engineering through the creation of different types of convincing content.”
