A majority of consumers believe it is harder to secure their information on digital platforms than their physical homes, according to recently published research.
However, the stigma around falling victim to online scams means that the majority of consumers feel too ashamed to report any cases.
The report from Mastercard found that three-quarters (76%) of consumers are more concerned about cybersecurity than they were two years ago.
A similar number (70%) believe “it is harder to secure my information on digital platforms than it is to secure my physical home."
The concern is across the globe with Singapore (89%), Brazil (86%) and India (81%) all above the average while the US (78%) and the UK (74%) were in line with the global standard.
The report also argues that cybersecurity has become a "dinnertime conversation" with almost half (44%) of respondents stating that they think about it more than job security.
While there were few regional differences, the report does show that younger consumers are more likely to fall victim to online fraud. Although 80% of consumers have received a scam attempt in the last year, the engagement tends to decrease with age - gen Z (43%), millennials (39%), gen X (22%) and Boomers (14%).
Shopping and retail fraud is most common form of fraud (39%), followed by investment and crypto scams (35%), identity theft (33%) and romance scams (29%).
Yet despite these statistics, attempts to address the cybersecurity concerns are hampered by the stigma involved. More than half (56%) of respondents say they would feel ashamed if they fell victim to an online scam.
In addition, 49% of respondents said they would feel too embarassed to tell anyone about a fraudulent transaction.