Consumers putting finances at risk by banking on unprotected smartphones

Whether it’s catching up on the news, meeting potential partners through dating apps, finding new places to eat and drink or simply keeping in touch with friends and family: our smartphones have become an extension of ourselves and it’s hard to imagine life without them.

For businesses too, a phone is often the best way to connect with suppliers and customers. While certain apps allow companies to have a presence on social media, others help business owners keep track of income and expenses – all from the palm of their hand.

However, when it comes to both our personal and business finances, 31.9 million of us are actually putting ourselves at risk by carrying out our online banking on smartphones and devices that are potentially vulnerable to a security breach.

47% of smartphone owners who use a banking app admit they don’t protect their mobile device with antivirus or security software, while 21% believe their phone can’t be hacked – despite the level of mobile malware attacks increasing over the past 12 months, according to a new report from cyber security experts Kaspersky.

Figures from 2019 show that 73% of the population uses mobile banking, accessing their day-to-day banking accounts as well as saving pots and house funds. Only 31% have never thought about protecting their phone with antivirus protection. Interestingly, however, the majority of consumers who own a desktop (80%) have protected these devices by installing antivirus and security software. So why doesn’t it extend to our smartphones?

Aston spoke to Claire Hatcher, global head of fraud prevention at Kaspersky to discuss the research in further and also discussed how big of an overlooked problem this really is.

Photo by William Hook on Unsplash