Identity theft prevention in the digital space is still incipient in Brazil, according to a new survey looking into what people do to avoid the exposure of their confidential data.
Only one in five (19%) of Brazilians (22% men and 17% women) use some form to protect themselves against identity theft in online settings, the survey carried out by cybersecurity firm Norton.
The survey, conducted in July with 1,020 respondents, also found that only 18% of respondents say they use a virtual private network (VPN) – a tool that protects users’ data whereby IP address are hidden by a kind of virtual tunnel. Around three in ten (29%) respondents said they change their online account passwords regularly.
As a consequence of cyberattacks, people’s confidential data often ends up on the dark web, leading to identity theft. However, a proactive attitude to avoid exposing private information is seen among a small portion of those polled by the Norton survey.
When asked about the measures to protect their bank accounts against identity theft, 22% of respondents said check their credit report at least once a year, while 47% have alerts set up for bank accounts and credit card for monitoring.
Additionally, 60% of respondents say they regularly check their bank, credit card and/or financial statements for unusual or unauthorized activity.
Separate research by Trend Micro has found that Brazil is the second country in the world most vulnerable to cyberattacks: the Latin nation is only surpassed by the United States in the number of blocked threats in the first half of 2023.
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