36 percent of Americans have fallen victim to
holiday shopping scams.
TEMPE,
Ariz. and PRAGUE,
Nov. 1,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A global study from Norton, a
consumer Cyber Safety brand1 of NortonLifeLock (NASDAQ:
NLOK), sheds new light on the risks consumers will take this
holiday shopping this season. According to the 2022 Norton Cyber
Safety Insights Report: Special Release – Holiday, conducted online
in August 2022 among 1,000 U.S.
adults 18+ by The Harris Poll, one in three American adults (34%)
admit to taking more risks when online shopping during holiday
season compared to other times of the year.
The study found a staggering 36% of Americans have fallen victim
to online shopping scams during the holidays, losing $387 on average as a result. Of those victimized,
most frequently cybercriminals connected with them via email (40%),
through social media (38%), third-party websites (32%), texts (28%)
or phone calls (23%).
"Now more than ever, many are willing to do whatever it takes
online to save on big ticket holiday items, even if it puts them at
risk," said Kevin Roundy, Researcher
and Senior Technical Director, NortonLifeLock. "The past frenzy of
lining up outside stores early to grab must-have holiday gifts has
mostly moved online."
Roundy continues, "Inflation and cost-cutting has pushed more
Americans to look for discounts, with three-quarters of U.S. adults
(77%) willing to take any action to cut costs this holiday season.
At this time of year, and this year in particular, vigilance is
needed around offers that seem too good to be true, especially when
shopping on unfamiliar sites or links via social media."
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults (17%) admit they would willingly risk
giving away personal information to obtain a high demand gift or
toy over the holiday season– more than one in ten (12%) would
go so far as to share their name, email or birthdate which could
compromise their identity, however 9% admit they would share the
personal details of a friend or family member to secure a high
demand gift. Further, more than 2 in 5 Americans (41%) admit to
risking their personal information in some way during the holiday
season, typically by posting a picture of an expensive gift they
have received (19%), posting a picture of their travel destination
(18%), tagging their current location on social media (18%), or
posting a picture of their travel plans without removing any
personal information (13%).
While most Americans (89%) say they feel confident shopping
safely online this holiday season, more than 2 in 5 (43%) admit
they aren't really sure of the best ways to do so. When shopping
online Norton experts recommend the following actionable steps to
identify and avoid risks when online shopping:
- Checking ratings of online sellers
- Avoiding suspicious links from social media ads or unfamiliar
emails using a virtual private network (VPN) when making online
purchases on public or unsecured Wi-Fi.
Norton helps consumers shop safely online with products like
Norton Safe Web, which enables users to check for unsafe hyperlinks
with the Link Guard Feature. For those looking to take preventative
steps to safeguard their connected devices, online privacy and
identities, Norton provides all-in-one protection from cyber
threats through Norton 360 with LifeLock Select.
To view the study's full results and accompanying visual assets,
please visit the 2022 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report: Special
Release – Holiday press kit at
https://newsroom.nortonlifelock.com/norton-cyber-safety-report.
About the 2022 Norton Cyber Safety
Insights Report: Special Release – Holiday
The research was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf
of NortonLifeLock among 1,000 adults aged 18+. The survey was
conducted August 15 – September 1, 2022. Data are weighted where
necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education,
marital status, household size, household income, and propensity to
be online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in
the population.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who
have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision
of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible
interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +
3.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible
interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of
interest.
About NortonLifeLock
Inc.
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) is a global leader in
consumer Cyber Safety, protecting and empowering people to live
their digital lives safely. We are the consumer's trusted ally in
an increasingly complex and connected world. Learn more about how
we're transforming Cyber Safety at NortonLifeLock.com.
1 No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity
theft.
Jenna
Torluemke
|
Erin
Farkaly
|
NortonLifeLock
Inc.
|
Edelman for
NortonLifeLock Inc.
|
Jenna.Torluemke@nortonlifelock.com
|
Erin.Farkaly@edelman.com
|
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SOURCE NortonLifeLock Inc.