Irish computer users less susceptible to scammers, survey shows

MORE than a quarter of the country’s computer users have been contacted by internet scammers posing as computer security engineers and a significant number have been duped by the person on the other end of the line.

However, a survey by software giant Microsoft shows that the Irish are less susceptible to deception than many other nationalities.

Microsoft surveyed 7,000 computer users in Ireland, Britain, the US and Canada and found, on average, 26% of people had received cold-calls at home from the scammers claiming to be from Microsoft or a security firm, offering “free security checks”.

Of those who received a call in Ireland, 16% were tricked into following the scammers’ instructions, which ranged from allowing remote access of their machines, downloading the criminals’ software code or in some cases giving credit card information in order to make purchases.

Across the countries surveyed, 22% of those who received a call were duped. Posing as computer security engineers, the criminals call people at home to inform them they are at risk of a computer security threat.

The scam operators add authenticity by claiming to represent legitimate companies and by providing security checks free of charge.

Once the operators trick their victims into believing they have a problem, the scam operators are known to use malicious techniques designed to steal money.

Almost 80% of those who were deceived by the scammers suffered financial loss.

While 17% of people tricked in all the countries surveyed had money taken from their accounts, just 5% of Irish suffered such a loss.

A quarter of the scammers’ victims reported compromised passwords and 9% were victims of identity fraud. Almost half (49%) said they suffered subsequent computer problems.

Across all four countries surveyed, the average amount of money stolen was €596, ranging from €56 in Ireland up to €1,077 in Canada.

For those whose computers were compromised, the average cost of repairing damage caused to computers by the scammers was €1,185 — but just €110 in Ireland.

Director of Commercial Practices in the National Consumer Agency, John Shine said: “Because phone scammers rely on deceiving, we believe the most effective protection lies in consumer education to prevent people from becoming victims in the first place.”

Microsoft has advised anyone who may have fallen for such a scam to change their passwords, scan their machines for malware and to contact their bank and credit card providers to avoid any further inconveniences.