Close to nine out of 10 Irish people believe they are at risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime, according to research carried out by the European Commission (EC).
Four out of 10 people in this country report receiving fraudulent emails or dodgy calls from criminals seeking their personal data, according to the EC research.
And a quarter of people have discovered malicious software on an IT device.
Cybercrime in this country is at record levels, research produced by consultants PwC indicates. Just 5pc of cybercrimes are reported to gardaí, according to Det-Supt Mick Gubbins of the Garda Cyber Crime Bureau.
All of this should cause us to pause for thought. Cybercrime is any criminal activity that involves a computer, networked device or a network. While most cybercrimes are carried out in order to generate profit for the criminals, some cybercrimes are carried out against computers or devices directly to damage or disable them.
The gardaí recently highlighted an increase in reports of ‘vishing’ phone scams. This is a sophisticated phone scam where a person receives a call from someone claiming to be from their bank, telling them that there is an issue with their account…
