The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause much of the population to severely restrict their movements for the sake of limiting transmissions. In adhering to lockdowns and other restrictions, many Australians have been compelled to stay home for extended periods. This has in turn led to much greater time spent online.
A recently released 2021 Consumer Security Mindset Report by McAfee indicates that two-thirds of the population now fear becoming victims of cybercrime. This rise in figures has been attributed to the much longer time people are spending online carrying out banking transactions, engaging in social media, and doing online shopping.
The trend is perhaps most worrying amongst seniors in the 55-74-year-old bracket. About half of the respondents in this segment confirmed that they only started using digital resources during the height of the pandemic when many brick and mortar financial services were suspended.
According to Scamwatch statistics, Australians lost over 176M in 2020 through cybercrime acts like investment scams, false billing, online shopping scams, identity theft, phishing, and remote access scams. This is an increase in the over 142M lost in 2019. Of the 216,089 reports made in 2020, just over 10% resulted in financial losses. The hardest-hit age bracket by the amount lost was the over 65-year-olds, with the 25-34-year-old range making the highest number of reports.
This report comes not long after Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that the country was seeing an increased frequency in state-based cyber-attacks. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has also confirmed that there is an average of 164 cybercrime reports being made daily. The ACSC has identified ransomware as being the highest security threat. This cybercrime typically involves hackers locking up people’s access to their systems and requiring the victims to pay a ransom to regain access.
For regulators, the biggest concern is that actual reported number of incidences made may be much lower than the real number of victims. Many people may not be disclosing these incidents out of a sense of embarrassment, or because they are yet to realise they have been swindled.
Anyone that has inadvertently shared personal or financial information with a scammer online is advised to quickly get in touch with their financial institution. They may be able to stop fraudulent transactions. Some credit card transactions may also be reversible. Your financial institution may also recommend closing the account for which you have shared details.
You think cybercrime won’t affect you, and so do other accounting firms – but it could! Read some real examples of organisations which suffered at the hands of cybercrime.
To be protected against the ramifications of cyber crime following a cyber attack, contact the Professional Risks team at Accountancy Insurance and ask them how Cyber Shield can protect your accounting firm. We operate in an industry built on positive relationships and experiences. This is always provided to you through communication and experienced support. When you call us you’re not going to experience long phone menus. Your email isn’t going into cyber-space, never to be seen or heard from again. At Accountancy Insurance, we pride ourselves on exceptional customer service – and when you contact us, that’s exactly what you’ll get!
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