As the festive season approaches, people go out and buy more. This applies to online purchases just as much as in the shops so Kaspersky Lab reminds device users to make sure they always protect their transactions online. Unfortunately Internet shopping does not always end well for the buyers. A recent survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International found that almost half of those respondents who lost money in fraudulent online transactions did not get all – or sometimes any – of their funds back.

Although many financial institutions state a willingness to reimburse money lost due to cybercrime, only 56% of respondents reported that they could fully recoup their losses. 16% of victims received only partial compensation, and 28% could not recover any money at all. In some regions, such as Russia, 58% of those surveyed said there was no hope of getting any money back, and 13% received only part of the stolen sum. These losses can be significant: the average sum stolen by cybercriminals was $218 and 18% of respondents reported a loss in excess of $1,000.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that not all users are fully aware of the danger of cyberfraud: 0-6% of respondents believe that online crimes involving stolen money are rare occurrences that will not happen to them. Only 22% believe they can be a target of a cyberattack. However, statistics show that about 43% of users faced financial cyberthreats at least once during the previous year.

“Even if you are sure that the financial company or online store will refund any stolen money in the event of online fraud, you should still be cautious. You may indeed get all the money back – although the figures suggest this only happens about half the time – but the time and stress you will suffer are impossible to compensate. That’s why it’s important to pay special attention to the protection of confidential information, including your financial data,” said Elena Kharchenko, Head of Consumer Product Management, Kaspersky Lab.

For example, Kaspersky Internet Security – Multi-Device, in addition to basic tools that combat cyber threats, integrate Safe Money technology for Windows and OS X. This technology was developed specifically to provide additional security for online transactions. When a user accesses a payment service or is about to make a purchase from an online store, Safe Money authenticates the website certificate against the cloud database, protects the browser from possible malware intrusion, safeguards against snatching screenshots and secures any information entered via the keypad against possible interception by keyloggers.