A fifth of Brits are too scared of cybercrime to shop online

Get thyself a firewall

10 October 2006 14:13 GMT / By Amber Maitland

British people are more afraid of internet crime than any other sort of crime, according to a new study by the government.

A fifth of those surveyed said they felt most at risk from internet crime, more so than from burglary, mugging, or car theft.

The figures were released as part of a promotion for the Get Safe Online campaign, which has started touring the country to try and educate people about online security.

Fifty-seven per cent of UK households are connected to the Internet, and out of those, 69% have broadband. More people are spending a greater amount of time online and are looking to the internet for new services, like shopping and banking; indeed, more than half of those questioned participate in online banking.

However, nearly 20% are too afraid of internet crime to shop online.

Get Safe Online hopes to teach people how to avoid common mistakes and protect themselves and their computer better. The new stats show that 23% have opened an email attachment sent from someone they didn’t know; 17% didn’t bother using antivirus software, and 22% had no firewall set up.