04 May 2023

Kaspersky reports that 37% of respondents in a study suffered financial losses last year.

The majority of digital payments users (97%) lost up to $1,000 equivalent as a result of the threats they encountered when using online banking and mobile wallet services. During the year, 3% of the respondents reported a loss of more than US$1,000 equivalent.

Kaspersky Security Network says 161,272 financial threats were blocked in Nigeria by Kaspersky in 2022. The attacks were aimed at stealing financial information such as credit card numbers and login credentials and usually rely on social engineering tactics to lure victims.

The cybersecurity company warns that the impact of a cyber threat targeting digital payments does not just impose a financial burden on consumers, but also affects them psychologically. For example, 60% of respondents from Nigeria said that they were very anxious about getting their money back and 43% of users reported that they have less trust in digital payment providers. 80% also stated that they became more vigilant after experiencing a cyber incident, and 65% installed security solutions like an antivirus on their infected devices.

According to Kaspersky, since the beginning of the pandemic, 64% of users in Nigeria faced at least one incident when using digital payments.

“That’s why it’s increasingly important to know how to interact securely with any emerging technologies, including online banking and mobile wallet services,” said Emad Haffar, head of technical experts at Kaspersky. “And all stakeholders, like government, digital payment providers, users, and even cybersecurity companies need to come together to create a sustainable and secure payment ecosystem.”

To help users embrace digital payment technologies securely, Kaspersky experts suggest users not share PINs, passwords, or any other financial information with anyone online or offline.