Who’s most at risk online?

Students are placing themselves at the greatest risk of online fraud compared to any other adult demographic in the UK, according to a new study (1) from GetSafeOnline.org.

Highest risk group: Students

- Internet users in full-time education (2) are almost twice as confident online as other internet users – more than half (51%) consider themselves ‘very’ internet literate, compared to the national average of 26%. Despite this, they are the most dismissive of the risk of online crime and of the importance of basic security tools (such as anti-virus software) in protecting them against it.

- One in 10 (10%) consider there to be ‘no risk’, more than double the national average (four percent)

- Almost one in three (30%) do not see security software as an important measure, far exceeding the national average of 18%

- This apparent complacency translates to their online behaviour, too – students are amongst the greatest culprits in taking unnecessary risks online. For example:

- 28% admit to entering personal details into a website from an unsecured computer, over double the national average of 11%

- Almost one in five (19%) regularly post valuable personal information (such as their date of birth or home address) on social networking sites, almost double the national average (11%)

http://www.getsafeonlineblog.org/whos-most-at-risk-online