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SINGAPORE: The next time you surf the Internet, consider this: you might just be one click away from becoming the next cyber-crime victim.
A new study, released by Symantec consumer division Norton, revealed that 70 per cent of Internet users in Singapore have fallen victim to cyber-crimes including computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft. And, 71 per cent do not expect cyber-criminals to be brought to justice.
Despite its prevalence, most victims are staying silent about cyber-crime. Internet safety advocates term this as the silent digital epidemic.
Symantec's head of consumer business, Effendy Ibrahim, said: "People don't really talk about it. People don't really report it. Because the way the cyber-criminals work today is they steal very little amounts from you such that that you don't feel the loss. When you don't feel the loss, you say, 'Well, I'd let it go. I won't report it to the authorities'. So there's a lot of cyber-crime going on around us that goes unreported."
The first study to examine the emotional impact of cyber-crime, it showed that Singaporean victims' strongest reactions were anger (58 per cent), frustration (51 per cent) and feeling cheated (45 per cent).
Although one in four Singaporeans blamed the criminals behind the cybercrime, one third felt highly responsible for cyber-criminal activities that resulted from their response to online scams (30 per cent) and phishing attacks (24 per cent).
Solving cyber-crimes can be highly frustrating. According to the report, four in 10 of the victims in Singapore have never fully resolved cyber-crime.
This, it said, is no surprise, considering that it takes an average 24 days and an average cost of S$1,660 to come to a resolution.
Close to three in ten of the respondents said the biggest hassle they faced when dealing with cyber-crime was the time it took to resolve an incident.
And, more than half said their biggest fear when it comes to being a victim of cyber-crime was financial loss.
Meanwhile, with the advent of social networking sites such as Facebook, cyber-criminals are taking to preying on trusted networks.
Mr Effendy Ibrahim said: "If a material came from a friend or a relative, you are more likely to click on that than a material that comes from a stranger."
Fortunately, cyber-crime can be prevented with security software, along with using multiple passwords and updating these passwords more often.
Experts said consumer education is the way forward to reducing cyber-crime.
Bryan Tan, director of Keystone Law Corporation, said: "One of the solutions would really be consumer education.....(educating) consumers to take personal responsibility for their cyber wellness, for their online security."
Mr Tan also said Singapore has implemented a Computer Misuse Act to tackle such issues.
"Singapore has strict laws that prevent us from being used as a base for cyber-criminals. But we do have a very connected....very affluent population, which then makes us a target for cyber-criminals. And, these criminals could operate outside of Singapore."
- CNA/ir
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