Canadians concerned about cyber fraud: poll

“As technology continues to evolve, so too are the tricks fraudsters use to try and steal your personal information,” says Justin Hwang, associate vice president, fraud management, TD Canada Trust. “Banks and credit card companies have sophisticated security measures in place and work closely with law enforcement to protect their customers, but it is important to remember that you are the first line of defence.”

The good news is Canadians are taking actions to protect themselves from these ‘online bandits’, including:

• Ensuring their computer’s security software and virus/malware protection is up-to-date (86%)
• Subscribing to the highest level of privacy on their social media accounts (73%)
• Using an automatic lock function with a password-protection feature whenever their mobile phone, tablet, computer starts-up or times-out (54%)
• Never texting or emailing banking information (46%)
• Never downloading social media apps from unknown sources (45%)
• Never sharing email or social media site passwords (45%)

Hwang says an emerging type of fraud consumers should watch out for is malicious smartphone and social media apps that are designed to steal personal information, which is then used to commit fraud.

“Always be cautious when downloading apps for your cell phone, tablet or computer. Try to stay with apps from well-known and trusted brands,” he says.

The poll revealed Canadians are more concerned about some traditional forms of fraud — including debit card fraud (87% versus 81% in 2011) and identity theft (91% versus 86% in 2011) — but more people are taking precautions to protect themselves. Compared to last year, more Canadians now rely solely on ATMs that belong to their bank (65% versus 58%), have spoken to their bank about reducing their withdrawal limit (30% versus 25%) and change their PINs every couple of months (19% versus 12%).

But Hwang says some Canadians are still engaging in risky behaviour that can make them vulnerable: 14% admit they have carried their debit card or credit card PIN in their wallet, 11% have sent their credit card number through email, and 10% have told someone their PIN.

Young adults, in particular are are engaging in behaviors that put them at risk for fraud.

A survey from Visa Canada found that young Canadians — those aged 18-30, were the most likely to overshare personal information, with 32% admitting to including their email address, home address, birthday, or phone number, on social networking sites — information that could potentially be used fraudulently to perpetuate identity theft and other scams.

Results also found that young adults are most likely to share their PIN and lend their credit or debit card to others, while seniors, aged 66 and older, were the group most likely to keep their experiences with fraud secret from friends and family.