The rising tide of phishing attacks and other security
threats is putting US internet users off banking and purchasing
online.
Analyst Gartner said an estimated 73 million US adults who used
the internet had received more than 50 phishing e-mails in the past
year.
Gartner based its estimate on a survey of 5,000 US adults.
Gartner reported that three out of every four online shoppers
were now more cautious about where they bought goods online, and
one out of three bought fewer items than they otherwise would have
because of security concerns.
“Companies need to take steps quickly to beef up online
security,” said Gartner analyst Avivah Litan. “We are seeing
unprecedented levels in consumer transactions online. Yet
businesses cannot rely on the internet to lower costs and improve
marketing efforts indefinitely if consumer trust continues to
decline.”
More than 80% of US online consumers said their concerns about
online attacks had affected their trust in e-mail from companies or
individuals they didn’t know personally. Of these consumers, more
than 85% deleted suspect e-mail without opening it.
“This figure has serious implications for banks and other
companies that want to use the e-mail channel to communicate more
cost-effectively with their customer base,” Litan said. “For
example, a bill sent electronically costs about half of what a bill
costs when sent through the post.”