It is a study that we must read with great attention in the middle of the Christmas period. Visa has indeed carried out a survey on a major subject: banking scams. The survey is international, and it therefore allows us to compare the different countries with each other.
When the messages of scammers deceive the French
Thus, 33% of French people admit having been victims of a bank scam. This puts us at the back of the pack at European level. Our compatriots thus do worse than the Spaniards (32%), the Germans (28%), or even the English and the Italians (26 and 19%). In contrast, bank scams seem to be much more common in India and the United States, where 52 and 41% of respondents say they have fallen for it.
This survey also provides us with interesting elements on how scammers manage to deceive our vigilance. 65% of respondents say they are “sensitive” to emergency messages used by malicious actors. Similarly, 49% admit to having been fooled by content announcing good news, such as a refund or a potential gain.
However, there are some ways to spot these scams. Moreover, 65% of the French people questioned explain that they pay attention to the spelling used by the messages. Unfortunately, hackers know this and apply more and more. 56% of respondents say they check the address from which the e-mail is sent. It’s an excellent reflex, and in many cases, it can reveal the deception.
However, this survey only partially addresses the problem, as credit card scams can also take place offline. We mentioned in particular last month the case of scams at the bank terminal which affected restaurateurs this summer.
In concrete terms, criminals take advantage of a moment of inattention on the part of a server during payment to change their payment terminal to an identical machine. The device recovered by the trader is directly linked to the bank account of the crooks who recover all of the establishment’s receipts.
Remain vigilant in all circumstances
Recently, we also told you about this study carried out by the company Goodfirms. We can see that despite the wide dissemination of prevention messages, Internet users remain very naive in their daily practice and can still be fooled by cybercriminals.
In fact, 47% of social network users say they have fallen for online scams. This is for example the case of gift card scams, employment scams, or even romance scams.
It will be understood, vigilance remains more than ever online. And because anyone can get caught, using a strong antivirus is always advised. We have also prepared a complete guide that lists the best offers on the market.
