Who’s most at risk online?

Students are placing themselves at the greatest risk of online fraud compared to any other adult demographic in the UK, according to a new study (1) from GetSafeOnline.org.

Highest risk group: Students

Internet users in full-time education (2) are almost twice as confident online as other internet users – more than half (51%) consider themselves ‘very’ internet literate, compared to the national average of 26%. Despite this, they are the most dismissive of the risk of online crime and of the importance of basic security tools (such as anti-virus software) in protecting them against it.

• One in 10 (10%) consider there to be ‘no risk’, more than double the national average (four percent)
• Almost one in three (30%) do not see security software as an important measure, far exceeding the national average of 18%

This apparent complacency translates to their online behaviour, too – students are amongst the greatest culprits in taking unnecessary risks online. For example:

• 28% admit to entering personal details into a website from an unsecured computer, over double the national average of 11%
• Almost one in five (19%) regularly post valuable personal information (such as their date of birth or home address) on social networking sites, almost double the national average (11%)

Lowest risk group: Retired ‘silver surfers’

The lowest risk internet users were those in retirement (3), despite rating themselves as less internet literate than their student counterparts. The largest proportion (40%) consider themselves to be ‘fairly’ literate, acknowledging there are things that they are ‘not sure about’. This moderate level of confidence makes these ‘silver surfers’ much less dismissive of the risk of online crime.

• The majority (55%) believe there is ‘some risk’; only two percent thought there was ‘no risk’
• 89% consider security software a key crime prevention measure, almost 30% higher than the student group

This vigilance also translates to their online behaviour. 70% claim to have never taken any of the common behavioural risks online, such as opening or forwarding attachments from an unknown source (4). This is almost twice the proportion of students (37%) and significantly better than the national average (53%).

How can we account for these differences?

Tony Neate, Managing Director of GetSafeOnline.org, explains: “Our study set out to establish whether online security factors vary according to age, gender, geography and occupation. Online criminals operate on a mass scale so are indiscriminate about who they target. Whether they are successful or not depends largely on two factors: firstly, how good we are at securing our computers; and secondly, how much we avoid risky activities and behaviours while we’re using the internet.

Psychologist Donna Dawson comments: “How confident and secure we feel using the internet – as opposed to how secure we actually are – depends on our life-experience and on how emotionally ‘involved’ we are with our internet usage. The more we need something, the more we are likely to rationalise that everything surrounding this ‘need’ is okay.

“For instance, many students ‘need’ the internet for social prestige; they are inclined to put their personal details online in order to attract friends and admirers, and push any associated risk out of conscious thought. The silver surfers have the right balance between a longer life-experience of risk and a lower emotional need for internet usage; they therefore tend to recognise the rationale for higher internet security,” she explains.

Neate adds: “These findings are a wake-up call for students in particular and we’d urge them to take immediate steps to reduce their risk – easily done by visiting www.getsafeonline.org. If they increase their understanding of the potential scams, and take the basic precautions that we recommend, they can significantly improve their online safety without losing the benefits and enjoyment of the internet.”

The study also highlighted other vulnerable groups, including full-time parents and carers (5).

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

(1) Research was conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of GetSafeOnline.org, interviewing a sample of 1,000 adult internet users aged 18 years or above in the UK. Note profile summary table (5) below.

(2) Note – 92 percent of full-time students surveyed were aged 18-24 years.

(3) Note – 97 percent of retired participants surveyed were over the age of 55 years.

(4) The common online behavioural risks that participants were questioned on include: opening email attachments from an unknown source; clicking on a link in an unsolicited email; entering personal or bank details from a computer you don’t know is secure; replying to an unsolicited or ‘spam’ email; forwarding an email attachment from an unknown source to a friend/colleague; responding to an email requesting personal information (i.e. ‘phishing’ scam).

(5) Profile summary table:

For further information and interviews:

• Contact the Get Safe Online press office team on 020 3047 2561 or press@getsafeonline.org.
• Visit the website at www.getsafeonline.org/go/media or the Get Safe Online blog at www.getsafeonlineblog.org
• To obtain general information and statistics about UK internet usage and online safety behaviour in the UK, download the latest Get Safe Online Report at http://www.getsafeonline.org/media/GSO_Report_2008.pdf

About Get Safe Online:

Get Safe Online (www.getsafeonline.org), which is now in its fourth year, is the UK’s national internet security awareness initiative. A joint partnership between the Government, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), as well as public and private sector sponsors from the worlds of technology, communication, retail and finance, the initiative continues to educate, inform and raise awareness of internet security issues to encourage confident, safe use of the internet.

GetSafeOnline.org is sponsored by the Cabinet Office, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), Home Office, Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), HSBC, Microsoft, Cable & Wireless, Ofcom and PayPal.

About Tony Neate, Managing Director, GetSafeOnline.org

Tony Neate started his career in law enforcement in 1976 as a Police Officer with the South Wales Police. In 1989, he moved to the Commercial Fraud Squad where he ran investigations into large-scale, serious and organised fraud.  In 1995, being one of only a handful of digital evidence examiners in the country, he set up the Hi-Tech Crime Unit within South Wales Police, subsequently dealing with computer-related offences including hacking, online child abuse, denial of service attacks, cyber stalking, email abuse and phishing. In 2001, he took up the Industry Liaison position within the newly formed National Hi-Tech Crime Unit based in London.  Following his retirement from the Police Service, he became Managing Director for the Get Safe Online initiative in 2006. Tony also acts as a consultant on hi-tech crime and security matters.

About Donna Dawson, Psychologist, BA, MSc:

Donna Dawson is a psychologist specialising in personality and behaviour (BA Hons, MSc, completing PhD). She gained her credentials at Brandeis University (Massachusetts, USA), Manchester University, and the University of London. She is a renowned UK commentator and expert in explaining how people’s behaviour and lifestyle choices reflect back on their personalities. Donna regularly contributes to discussions on Sky News, BBC Radio Five Live, This Morning, The Richard and Judy Show, The Wright Stuff and The Heaven & Earth Show.

Tagged as: Research, Silver Surfers, Students, Survey