Research reveals most Australians have accepted they are powerless to prevent cyberfraud

Most Aussies believe they will have their personal financial information stolen online, but many have accepted it as ‘normal’, a study revealed.

Three quarters of Australians are worried they can’t protect their personal and financial information from cyberfraud, while 87 per cent now accept that data breaches and hacks are the new normal, new research has found.

The Mastercard survey of 1010 Australian adults also revealed more than two-thirds of respondents did not feel in control of their online security.

Mastercard spokesman Matt Barr said it was important people knew how to protect themselves.

“When it comes to buying goods or services via social media, customers can take some small, simple steps,” Mr Barr said.

“Insist on using a secure payment channel when a seller is not known to you, particularly when buying goods via social media. No one should contact you for personal information or account data. If this happens, delete the email and reach out to your bank.”

He said monitoring accounts and statements regularly was important, along with smart password creation and avoiding unrecognised links.

“Use a digital wallet. They use multiple layers of security to keep you safe,” he said, adding that if information was accessed or stolen people should contact their financial institution immediately.

“Change the passwords across all of your accounts and ensure you use a strong password which contains a mix of letters, numbers and symbols, with no personal information included,” he said. “Enable multi-factor authentication and add biometrics to access accounts.”

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Source: Data breaches: study shows Aussies accept lack of security