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Britons Resist to Go Online for Fear of Cybercrime

A government investigation in UK suggests that more Britons are worried about cyber crime than about crimes of real world, like burglary. 21% felt the threat of online crime is most serious while 16% were afraid of robbery. 18% refused to shop online. Some even avoided using Internet at all. The fear stopped people from going online for day-to-day activities, said the survey on getsafeonline.og. Nearly a quarter of the respondents were so concerned about the e-crime that they refused to bank online.

Internet users, by more than a fifth, feel more susceptible to e-crime compared to any other type of crime. Fear of electronic fraud is second only to bankcard fraud as the kind of crime, which the survey participants felt at most risk of. Internet crime seems to have overtaken burglary.

One of the biggest online threats is phishing. It involves a hoax e-mail that lure recipients to update their account particulars. Revenue losses from phishing scams in Britain nearly became twice to 23.2m pounds in 2005.It is necessary to deal with fear of online crime and not ignore it to reap the enormous economic and social benefits from the Internet, feels Patrick McFadden, junior minister at the Cabinet. If people apply proper precautions to protect themselves, the vast majority of them will be able to enjoy the Internet without any problem.

As per the survey, 57% of the households in UK were connected to the Internet and 69% of them use broadband. During the first half of 2006, British online shoppers spent over 13bn pounds and 52% of the recipients said that they did their banking transactions online. 18% of the people in the survey said they would not shop online to remain safe from becoming a victim on the Net. At the end the survey, it was found that many people still lack basic protective measures when they use a PC to surf.

However, a good number of people have visited the Government's 'Get Safe Online' website to familiarize with the tips on computer security. If the remaining population of Internet users also came in the fore they could mitigate their fear.

Related article: Britain’s 12% Online Shoppers Fall to Fake Schemes

» SPAMfighter News - 10/13/2006

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