New Phishing Survey Results Released by Cyota

The online survey, representative of the online U.S. adult population with a bank account, is the first survey to focus on the growing trend of financial institution email fraud, also known as phishing. Phishing threatens consumers trust in the online channel As banks continue to encourage their accountholders to utilize their online services, fraudsters have begun exploiting accountholders trust in their financial institutions and the online channel. Cyotas survey shows that 75% of accountholders are less likely to respond to email from their banks, and over 65% said they were less likely to sign-up or continue to use their banks online services. In addition, consumer trust in e-commerce proved to be affected by phishing, 74% accountholders expressed that they were less likely to shop online due to phishing. Banks need to invest more in education - consumers find it effective According to Cyotas survey, while the current level of bank education is low, accountholders believe that bank education is needed and effective. De-facto, most accountholders, 67%, had not received any kind of communication or warning about phishing from their banks, but 91% of accountholders answered that communication from their bank in regards to phishing is helpful. Only 30% expressed a high level of confidence that they could distinguish between a real email and a fraudulent one. When asked how familiar accountholders are with their banks online data policies, and what information they will or will not be asked for online, 41% stated they were either unfamiliar or only slightly familiar with their banks policies. Accountholders look to their bank to protect them When asked whom accountholders deem responsible for protecting them from email fraud and phishing attacks 67% felt the bank was responsible for protecting them, while only less than 50% felt its the law enforcements responsibility. Cyotas survey, which was conducted with Infosurv, an online market research company, included 650 responses. The survey has a statistical accuracy of +/- 3.84% at the 95% confidence level.