More than a quarter of Dutch consumers are ‘very concerned’ about the potential misuse of their personal or banking details online, according to new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
According to the 2024 data, almost all have taken measures to secure their devices or online accounts, however half believe there is still a risk of becoming a victim of hacking.
One in five respondents said that they were ‘very concerned’ about possible hacking and account breaches, while around 15% were ‘very concerned’ about ransomware and computer viruses.
Despite these concerns, most Dutch consumers have taken proactive steps to secure themselves online, with more than 80% using some form of security measure on their devices, such as access codes, passwords, or biometric verification, and a similar percentage (74%) checking email attachments and links before opening them.
Security measures taken less often include the use of very long passwords (of 16 characters or more), two-step authentication, and VPNs. However, more than half (55%) report using different passwords for separate accounts.
Some two fifths of people in the Netherlands believe that there’s a risk of encountering fraud while buying or selling online, while 15% believe they could become a victim of online bullying, discrimination, threats or harassment, and 9% fear that they could become a victim of the distribution of intimate photos or videos without their permission.
Respondents are also cautious about sharing personal documents online, with 76% stating that they would never share a copy of their payment card over the internet, and more than half saying they would never share a copy of their passport, identity card or driving licence online, although 37% would do so if it was absolutely necessary.
‘Among those who have previously shared a copy of their passport, identity card or driving licence online, 20% said they always use an app to anonymise it first, and a further 20% sometimes did so. That was a higher share than in 2022, when 16% did this,’ Statistics Netherlands said. Read more here.
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