How many of you have been the victim of cybercrime? And for the sake of argument, let’s just define “cybercrime” as having contracted malware (viruses, trojans, etc), having your identity stolen, or having been the victim of credit card fraud. I’d be shocked if you don’t fit into any of of those three, since 73 percent of all U.S. Web users have been the victim of at least one of those three. All the more reason to follow through with my dream and just quit using the Internet: it’s a giant waste of time.
But what’s gone unnoticed, at least until this latest study, conducted by Norton, is the emotional trauma of having to deal with cybercrime, particularly if the loss of money is involved.
People feel violated, almost helpless. Worst, they blame themselves for what happened.
A solid 80 percent of Americans don’t ever expect to fall victim to cybercrime when, again, some 73 percent of Americans do, in fact, fall victim to cybercrime.
America, you’re not Superman; cybercrime can happen to you. Heck, statistically it will happen to you.
People feel a mix of emotions when they’ve been victimized. Anger (“son of a submariner!”), annoyance (“Oh jeez now I have to deal with this?”), and the feeling of being cheated (“ick”) are the top three emotions felt by people.
The worst part of dealing with cybercrime, according to the study, is the amount of time it takes to resolve.
You’ve got enough on your plate, and the last thing you want to deal with is figuring out where all these mysterious charges on your latest statement came from.