One in four French people have already lost money due to a cyber attack, a month to protect themselves

2024-09-12 12:00:21

A study shows that many French people are still easily fooled by scams.

Messages of prevention and caution abound, and yet, some still get caught. If digital has the ability to connect the whole world in a few clicks, it is also a deadly place for criminals, who are ready for the most clever tricks to steal money. While more and more French people manage to notice the scam in time and avoid getting caught, the percentage of people who still cannot distinguish a real ad from a fake one is still significant. To the point of the financial year of color that we do not see again.

This is what came out of the research conducted by the institute Ipsos * on behalf of “Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr”, a State Organization for assistance and prevention in matters of cybersecurity. Revealed this Thursday, September 12, the results (based on 3,100 responses) show that even if 6 out of 10 French people say they are well informed about the dangers of the Internet, the endless innovations in terms of scams can let them fall into a hurry. trap

The “new” of this time, deep fakes (video or audio recordings made or modified using artificial intelligence) and ransomware (software access to a computer in exchange for payment) are known only to 30% of the population and that 7 Only % knows. of smishing, the very widespread false SMS scam asking to pay a fine or a warning of a direct debit false written by the bank.

Although the rules are not always well known to the population, 85% of French people say that they always check before buying on the internet, to make sure that they are not the victim of a scam. Despite this precaution, the “old tricks” on the telephone, such as that of the fake bank adviser, continue to affect some French people, with 20% of the respondents who have faced this problem. Above all, the survey showed that 22% of those asked, or a little less than a quarter, have already lost money because of the fraud experienced during the year.

Cybermoi/s, a month of prevention

Faced with this phenomenon and “with a clear knowledge of the risks and good practices”, as Jérôme Notin, director general of Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, points out, “this study shows more than ever go the need to raise awareness among the younger generations that seems to be clearly evident.” On October 1, the organization is launching the 12th edition of its Cybermoi/s during which many awareness-raising actions on the risks of scams will be made by more than 1,000 participating companies.

Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr in particular offers many highlights throughout the month of October, including the #CyberEngged city action to allow everyone to participate. From October 1, for the launch of Cybermoi / s, everyone is invited to participate on social networks, especially by sending the cyber advice you want. The Cybermoi/s launch event to gather all the audience is also scheduled at the National Assembly on Wednesday, October 2 afternoon. It will be broadcast live on Cybermoi/s website.

Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr will also present the new edition of the Cyber ​​​​​​Quiz, based on the educational support of the Cyber ​​Family Guide ​​​​from October 1, and the new Consomags films in partnership with INC. An operation aimed at VSE-SMEs, ImpactCyber, also plans to convince them to protect themselves in advance, based on a study evaluating the level of cyber development of companies, an awareness campaign and a cyber security guide for attention leaders.

*Ipsos.Digital research conducted for Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr from July 2 to August 12 on the example of
3,100 French people aged 18 to 75