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Britons urged to use caution when parting with personal details

Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 16:18 by Graham Miller

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The savviest shoppers should have developed their own appreciation of how to correctly ensure that the online transactions which they carry out are as safe as possible.

However, a report published by Kaspersky Lab, has found that 58 per cent of UK consumers may be putting themselves at the mercy of identity thieves, because of their online actions.

Thirty one per cent of people questioned in the study said that they left financial details, like their credit card numbers and bank login data, accessible on their PC via their desktop, at home or at work.

Thirteen per cent of respondents even said that they have their login details written out on a post-it note, that is pinned somewhere on their desk.

Thirty four per cent of people said that they had encountered phishing sites or spam email messages, while they were trying to carry out safe shopping online.

Of course, this number might be higher if more people were actually aware of just how convincing the materials produced by some cybercriminal organisations can actually be.

There are many different risks associated with not properly safeguarding personal information when enjoying safe shopping online or simply using your computer.

Leaving financial data in a file on your desktop can leave it open to exploitation if malware or a hacker manages to unearth it and in most cases you may not even know that it has been stolen before it is too late.

Meanwhile, scam sites set up to dupe shoppers into giving away their details, which criminals will then use for their own nefarious means, are still prevalent.

Ultimately, it is necessary for consumers to read up on the risks of using the web, only using reputable sites which have a proven track record for safety.