Study: majority of Singaporean Web users vulnerable to phishing

By Enterprise Innovation Editors | Oct 14, 2009

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At least 83% of Singapore Web users are at risk from online fraud due to insufficient knowledge of phising, while users from the UK and USA are the most vulnerable, a YouGov survey revealed recently.

Of the 8 countries interviewed worldwide, Singapore came in sixth place, with India in last, who it appears are savvier in protecting their identities and personal details online, at 76%.

The survey asked each respondent to identify which - of two Web site images presented side by side – was a fraudulent phishing site. The most frequently missed “tell tale” was the spelling on the site, with 83% failing to spot the spelling mistakes that would have identified the phishing site.

Phishing scams and online fraud have created doubt and concern among online shoppers. To regain their trust, site owners need an easy, reliable way to show customers that their transactions are secure – and that they are who they say they are. Security vendors and Internet browsers have joined forces to establish the Extended Validation (EV) standard for SSL Certificates. With this technology, the browser and the certificate authority control the display, making it difficult for phishers and counterfeiters to hijack a brand and its customers.

“With more than eight out of ten people in Singapore vulnerable to phishing scams, it is crucial that a genuine site is easily and immediately identifiable,” said Armando Dacal, director of Authentication, VeriSign Asia Pacific. “By adopting Extended Validation, an online shopper using a high-security browser can clearly see that the site they are on is genuine by the green address bar. For additional clarity, the name of the organization listed in the certificate as well as the certificate’s security vendor such as VeriSign is also displayed.”

The results showed Singaporean respondents aged 18 to 24 years were more likely to identify a phishing site with spelling mistakes and scored higher than those aged 35 years and above, who are more than 20% less likely to spot a phishing site. Singaporean men also fared better in spotting all phishing sites correctly, with women 20% more likely than men to identify a phishing site with spelling mistakes.