In 2017, more than 1 million consumers became victims of online scams in the UAE; the total amount of stolen funds reached 321 million dirhams ($ 87.3 million).
Due to the growing popularity of e-commerce in the Gulf countries, Symantec published a report on cyber security, Norton Cyber Security 2017, according to which $ 87.3 million was stolen in the UAE in online scams in 2017.
The report said consumers in the UAE are facing a wide range of threats, including online shopping fraud, credit card scams, and payment theft.
The report also claims that last year almost a third of the total number of victims of cybercrime in the UAE spent an average of 47.2 hours on resolving the consequences of a scam.
Last year, when making online purchases, the payment data of 22% of victims became accessible to attackers, 28% experienced credit or debit card fraud, and 43% had stolen important personal or financial information as a result of data leakage.
According to Frost & Sullivan forecasts, the volume of e-commerce in 2018 in the UAE will reach $ 10 billion, and according to a Norton study, 9 out of 10 consumers in the UAE purchase goods online from mobile devices. And this is despite the fact that 71% of respondents in the country consider making purchases from mobile devices risky.
Tamim Taufig, head of Norton Middle East, said: “Today, the UAE has one of the highest penetration rates of the Internet and mobile communications in the world, this undoubtedly fuels the growth of e-commerce. This gives consumers a number of advantages: they can book a table in a restaurant, buy concert tickets, choose the perfect gift online.
“However, along with the advantages, there are a myriad of threats on the Internet. Including fraud when making purchases online, sites offering fictitious tickets to events, etc. It is sometimes difficult for the consumer to determine whether this or that site or offer "fraudulent or not. In order not to become a victim of fraud, the consumer needs to follow a few simple rules," the specialist added.
The report notes that UAE citizens, trying to eliminate the consequences of a credit or debit card fraud incident, spend on average about 18 hours, and when stealing payment data from the phone, it takes 8 hours to cope with the situation.
Consumers also spend an average of 22.4 hours eliminating the consequences of the theft of important financial information during online shopping.
