One in six adults 'fallen prey to a cyber attack'

Users of the Loyaltybuild website had their credit card details stolen by hackers earlier this year. Credit: PA

One in six adults has been stung online and been the victim of a cyber attack, fresh data has shown.

Global information services Experian revealed the 16% of adults had fallen victim to a phishing scam, had personal data taken to use offline or had an account hijacked.

Most adults were also failing to protect handheld hardware which could access the internet, such as an iPad or smartphone.

Some 60% of smartphone users admitted to having no malware protection and almost half (48%) of iPad owners said the same, the data showed.

Almost half used their smartphone for internet banking and one in three said they had paid for online purchases using their iPhone.

Phishing scams on mobile phones have increased by 80% over the past year.

Experian found of those who had fallen victim to a cyber attack:

  • The majority (83%) had been duped when on a laptop or PC

  • More than a fifth (21%) suffered a smartphone attack

  • A further one in six (17%) suffered a tablet attack.

They warned urged anyone going online to be wary when using public share points, as these were easier to hack, look for the padlock symbol and never to reveal personal information on an unrecognised website.