PayPal urges Brits to beat phishers and 'get safe online'

As Get Safe Online Week 2008 (17th-21st November) draws to a close new research from PayPal, the way to pay and be paid online, reveals that half of Britons (50%) who shop online are concerned about protecting their details online and avoiding fraud or identity theft (49%).

The PayPal ‘Global Trust and Safety Report', which surveyed 6,000 online users from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, found that more than four fifths (81%) of UK online users now bank online, the highest figure across all six countries surveyed. Spaniards have the lowest usage with less than half (49%) holding an online bank account. France and Germany are equally engaged in online banking with around two thirds of online consumers in these countries holding an online banking account (68% and 65% respectively).

Nearly half (49%) of UK consumers who bank online now believe their service to be ‘very secure', with 14% even saying they think online banking is more secure than offline banking. However, despite this faith in banking security a third (34%) of online users say they receive at least one phishing email every day and one in seven (14%) online users in the UK claim to have been a victim of ID theft.

Perhaps more worryingly the research also found that 40% of victims in the UK are unaware how their information was obtained or how the theft occurred. In fact, more than half of identity theft victims in the UK (52%) had to be contacted by their bank or credit card provider before they were even aware their details had been stolen.

Garreth Griffiths, Head of Risk Management at PayPal UK said, "With more people than ever banking online in the UK it's encouraging to see that so many believe the systems to be secure. It's really important however that people remain vigilant whenever they are making financial transactions online and don't inadvertently leave themselves open to becoming a victim of a scam or fraud.

"Phishers are using increasingly sophisticated ways to design phishing emails to lure people into thinking they have come from a trusted provider, such as their bank or credit card provider. If anyone is ever in doubt about the authenticity of an email, and concerned it may be a phishing scam they should never click on the link in the email. Instead open up your internet browser and type out the link manually, this will let you know if the email is genuine or fake."

Garreth Griffiths continued, "Forewarned is forearmed. There is now wealth of information available, particularly through initiatives such as Get Safe Online, which explain exactly how to ensure maximum safety whilst engaging in a range of online activities. Consumers everywhere can stay one step ahead and better protect themselves online by just following a few simple tips."

Consumers who are reluctant to share bank or card details can shop online and pay with PayPal without having to give any personal details.

Tips on how to spot a phishing email:

1. Generic greetings. Many spoof emails begin with a general greeting, such as: "Dear PayPal member." If you do not see your first and last name, be suspicious and do not click on any links or button.

2. A fake sender's address. A spoof email may include a forged email address in the "From" field. This field is easily altered.

3. A false sense of urgency. Many spoof emails try to deceive you with the threat that your account is in jeopardy if you don't update it ASAP. They may also state that an unauthorised transaction has recently occurred.

PayPal works closely with the industry in the fight to keep consumers safe from phishing and cybercrime. PayPal strongly supports Get Safe Online (getsafeonline.org) in the UK. PayPal believes internet access providers have a very important role to play and has encouraged them to work together to stop fraudulent emails from reaching consumers. In the last year, Yahoo! Mail and Google's webmail service GmailTM have both linked up to block emails wrongly claiming to be from eBay and PayPal from reaching their customers.