A scam happens in the UK every 37 seconds. But only half of UK adults have cybersecurity. Here one victim explains how she was more at risk than she realised...
Lynn Beattie's life was turned upside down when a random package she had not ordered arrived at her doorstep.
After some digging, she realised an account had been set up in her name where eight items had been ordered.
The identity thieves were able to find her name, address and date of birth to assist them in stealing her identity.
Lynn's personal identifiable information was publicly available through various channels including social media, online databases, and even unsecured websites.
The identity thieves had gathered her name, address and date of birth to open a credit account in her name. They'd created a fake phone number and email address. By the time Lynn discovered that had happened, the damage was extensive.
'It was really scary,' Lynn recalls. 'I did not really know how to unpick it all and how to protect my identity in the future.'
Despite the daunting experience, Lynn was able to recover from the ordeal. With the help of a dedicated identity theft protection service, she managed to clear her name and restore her financial stability.
'It was really scary'
However, the emotional toll was significant. Victims of identity theft often experience stress, anxiety, and a sense of violation. But research carried out by Gen, a cybersafe company promoting digital freedom through brands such as Norton, Avast and LifeLock, found that a surprising number of people are unaware of how prevalent and severe identity theft can be.
Despite a scam happening in the UK every 37 seconds, only half of UK adults have cybersecurity. The research looked into the reasons why people are not proactively protecting themselves online, and 34 per cent claimed cyber security was too expensive, while 17 per cent assumed their device came with pre-installed protection.
Gen has created art using brain waves of scam victims such as Lynn. These visuals were made using EEG technology to showcase the most common emotions experienced by cybercrime victims including anger (47%), stress (36%), and vulnerability (32%).
To showcase cybercrime's impact, victims of scams, including Lynn, were equipped with EEG headsets to monitor their brain reactions to their experiences. They were prompted to recall their emotional states before, during and after the attacks, with the final session occurring after introductions to cyber protection. The headsets recorded how the brain reacted to each state and transformed the data into creative visuals.
The artwork above shows Lynn's emotional reactions to the prompts. The first visual indicates relaxation, the second shows links with anxious thinking and stress after recalling the fraud incident, and the third visual suggests a return to relaxation and psychological wellbeing when presented with solutions for cyber safety.
'Experiencing a cyberattack is traumatic and will cause a negative emotional response,' says psychologist and wellbeing expert Lee Chambers. 'When the victims were asked to recall their experiences of cybercrime, the resulting artwork showed an eruption of brain activity that is often associated with stress, anxiety, and uncertainty - feelings that can be long-lasting and have a significant life impact. Often, when we think we have control, or perceive an event as unlikely, it can encourage excessive optimism and an inadequate assessment of risk.'
Leena Elias, Chief Product Officer at Gen, says: 'Cyberthreats today are bigger, more widespread, and more sophisticated than ever before, and they are here to stay. In fact, last year Gen blocked more than 14 billion attacks. We're focused on helping people to feel confident engaging with the digital world with solutions to help protect against evolving and emerging threats.'