This year, the case of the Registry Center, where personal data of about 600,000 residents was leaked, made people think about data security. Such information can help fraudsters create more convincing scams.
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The scale is also shown by police reports: from July 1–26 alone, about 1.26 million euros were scammed in Lithuania. About 73% of cases were phone scams, but money was also lost by clicking on SMS links, being lured by fake investments, or fraudsters coming to homes.
Threats are responded to, but habits change more slowly
A representative survey conducted by the company “Spinter Research” commissioned by “Urbo” bank showed that even with an increase in reports of personal data theft, about 27% of residents did not change their security habits, although they have online accounts or registrations.
According to Irmantas Jasevičius, Director of the Money Laundering and Fraud Prevention Department at “Urbo” bank, the most passive were residents aged 36–55 – about a third of them took no additional measures. Among young people aged 18–25, such were a fifth, and among respondents aged 56 and older – almost a quarter.
Although about 40% of respondents began to check information more carefully when paying online or to view links requesting personal data more suspiciously, only about 15% strengthened passwords for social networks, email, and other internet accounts.
“These results show that residents became more cautious when faced with a specific threat – they check payments and received links more carefully. However, account protection is strengthened much less often; in other words, daily security habits change less actively. Still, strong and different passwords are extremely important: if fraudsters take over an account, they can access more personal information and use it to create scams tailored to a specific person,” notes I. Jasevičius.
Who behaves most cautiously online?
The survey also revealed that personal data protection habits differ by residents’ age, gender, or even place of residence.
Residents aged 56 and older most often began to check links more carefully – about 46% answered so. Young people most often started checking information when paying online – 44%. Residents aged 36–55 remained the most passive here as well – only about 35–37% of this group began to evaluate links and payments more carefully.
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“People hear about threats, but knowledge does not always turn into real actions. Residents aged 36–55 often use the internet both at work and when managing finances or other daily matters, so they likely trust their experience more and act out of habit more often. This could explain why precautionary measures are taken least often in this age group. Meanwhile, people who feel less confident in the digital space naturally view unfamiliar links more suspiciously,” says the Director of the Money Laundering and Fraud Prevention Department at “Urbo” bank.
According to the survey data, women took precautionary measures more often than men in all areas – 33% and 30%, respectively. Differences are also visible by place of residence – Vilnius residents took additional actions less often than residents of other major cities, and in the regions, a third of respondents said they changed nothing.
How to protect accounts and money?
According to a representative of “Urbo” bank, to protect personal accounts from hacking, each account storing financial or personal data should use a different, long, and hard-to-guess password. It is not necessary to remember all of them – passwords can be stored in a reliable password manager or in the personal device’s browser protected by a PIN code or biometric data. It is important not to write them down in easily found places, especially not next to the website name. Where possible, two-factor authentication should be enabled.
According to I. Jasevičius, it is also worth periodically reviewing from which devices accounts were accessed and logging out from unused or other people’s devices. Old and unnecessary accounts should be deleted so that personal data is not stored unnecessarily. Websites requesting personal data should be critically evaluated – a fake website is often revealed by a changed letter, an additional word, or an unusually long internet address.
“If you receive an unexpected email, SMS, or call, the most important thing is not to click on links, not to disclose data, and not to follow requests. Bank, police, or other institution employees do not ask for passwords, banking codes, or card details by phone. An unexpected call in Russian should also raise suspicion. If there is even the slightest doubt, the conversation should be ended and contact made with the company using contacts listed on its official website,” advises the specialist.
According to him, it is important to know the purpose of “Smart-ID” codes: PIN1 is used for logging in, and PIN2 for payment or document confirmation. If PIN2 is requested somewhere during login, the control code should be checked and the exact request read.
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