40% of those surveyed targeted by scam while shopping online during festive season: Report

Mumbai: In a survey conducted between August 15 to September 1 this year, which is considered to be the peak months of Indian festivals, it says that 40 percent of surveyed adults have been targeted by scam while shopping online.

The research that was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Norton, a cybersecurity service provider, further shockingly exposes that 4 in 5 Indian adults surveyed, i.e., 85 percent, have admitted to risking their personal information or privacy in several ways during online shopping in the festive months.

Ritesh Chopra, Director of Norton India and SAARC Countries at NortonLifeLock feels there has been an increase in the number of online shoppers, and with that the rise in online shopping scams, gift card frauds, and postal delivery frauds.

“Our report also suggests that many Indian adults surveyed who have fallen victim and been defrauded while online shopping have been impacted financially and have lost money as a result, their average loss of those surveyed being Rs. 6,216,” said Chopra.

It further stated that only two-thirds of the surveyed adults were concerned about factors like the breach of privacy and fraud while shopping online. 78 percent were concerned that their personal details are being compromised, while 77 percent were about being defrauded by a third-party retailer. 76 percent were concerned about unintentionally receiving a counterfeit version of a gift. 75 percent were about buying a device for someone being digitally unsafe, while 69 percent were concerned about receiving a device as a gift that might be hacked.

Meanwhile, 74 percent say that spending time online via their connected apps “helps” their mental well-being.

“In fact, 2 in 3 Indian adults (65%) say their mental well-being would suffer if they could not access their connected devices during the festive season. The study also shows that 95% of Indians plan to take at least one action to manage their mental health, most typically by spending time outdoors (54%), reading books (50%), and reconnecting with friends and family using social media (50%),” the survey report suggests.