Fraud concerns still spook e-shoppers

24-01-2007

by Ciara O'Brien

Internet fraud is still causing concern among Irish shoppers, outranking more traditional fears of crime and climate change.

That's according to new research carried out in Britain and Northern Ireland by pay-as-you-go credit card voucher company 3V. Its research found that some 41 percent of those surveyed feared falling prey to online fraudsters in the coming year. In contrast only 29 percent were concerned about climate change and 24 percent feared gun crime.

Kieron Guilfoyle, chief executive of 3V, believes the research could equally apply to the Republic based on similarities between the two markets. "The Irish experience translated across the UK when we launched 3V there," he said.

There are currently about 1.4 million Irish internet users. According to a survey conducted last year by research group Behaviour & Attitudes, as many as 350,000 people in Ireland do not engage in any online transactions at all.

The same survey revealed that more than 15,000 Irish internet users could have fallen victim to identity theft through phishing scams.

In this respect then it seems that the concerns may be justified, and 16 percent of respondents to the 3V survey said they knew someone who had been affected by internet fraud.

A quarter of those surveyed said they found unfamiliar websites were the most worrying, while more than four in five people would sooner trust a friend with their cash card than enter their details online.

The fears could be hampering the development of e-commerce -- the same survey found that 49 percent would think twice about entering their card details online due to fears they may be compromised.

Fraud expert Professor Martin Gill, of the Perpetuity Consultancy, said he believed this was certainly the case. "As a form of trading, it's relatively new," he said.

He said the introduction of chip and pin has forced fraudsters to turn to other means to make money, and the internet is a prime target for this.

Speaking to ENN, Professor Gill said one good rule of thumb was not to give personal details online to unknown sources. Simple rules such as a this approach should help battle the growing incidence of internet fraud and identity theft.

"The latest figures say that it's getting worse," said Professor Gill, adding that as new protections were developed, offenders develop new way of getting around them.

Some 100,000 people have registered to use 3V vouchers in Ireland, according to Guilfoyle. The pre-paid cards were launched in the UK in November 2006. The vouchers use randomly-generated VISA numbers, while the security details are delivered by text message to the customer.