As Black Friday approaches, a new survey warns almost 10 million Canadians have been the victim of an online shopping scam.
Cybersecurity company NordVPN says over 27 per cent of Canadians have been scammed through online shopping.
The survey finds we make it easier for online criminals by giving up a treasure trove of personal information for an extra markdown or a freebie.
Three in ten have been scammed before and many admit they are still ready to hand over a catalogue of bizarrely irrelevant information for a big discount or free gift.
Marijus Briedis is the chief technology officer at NordVPN.
“Black Friday is a honeypot for scammers so the 16 million Canadians preparing to attack the biggest bargain hunts of the year had better be on their guard. It’s vital to pay attention to the security certificates on websites and be wary of any site asking for details that they just don’t need. If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Briedis said.
More than 19 per cent of Canadians said the security of websites is their lowest priority when shopping online while the price is the biggest driver, with 36.6 per cent of people choosing it as what they most pay attention to.
90 per cent of scam victims will hand over at least some personal data to land a bonus gift, discount or free service.
The survey was conducted from October 25th to 30th with the target group residents of the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland.
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