Survey: Consumers trust online brands too much—to benefit of cybercriminals

Portland, Ore. – Consumers have trust in well-known brands online, possibly to the detriment of themselves and their employers and to and the benefit of cybercriminals. According to a new survey of 2,011 U.S. and U.K. consumers from security solutions provider Tripwire, more than 40% of consumers believe emails from “trusted brands” are safe to click, and nearly a quarter (24%) anticipate doing at least part of their holiday shopping while at work.



Survey findings include:



• More than a quarter of respondents (26 percent) believe links contained in subscription emails and newsletters are ‘safe.’

• 23% believe links sent from trusted associates are safe to click.

• Only 28% of consumers believe it is never safe to click on email shopping links.



“Cybercriminals are very resourceful, and they know that the siren song of a good deal is almost always irresistible to bargain hunters,” said Dwayne Melancon, CTO at Tripwire. “The number one reason to click is trust in a brand, which isn't good – I have seen some very convincing phishing emails and bogus websites that look nearly identical to the real thing. Shoppers need to look beyond the facade of convincing branding to make sure they aren't being conned into clicking on a bogus link.”