// YouGov poll finds adults are spending longer online since lockdown, and many using internet shopping for the first time
// Get Safe Online launches code of advice to help customers navigate online shopping and banking
Almost a third of adults in the UK feel more vulnerable to fraudsters after the rise of internet shopping and banking during lockdown.
A YouGov poll carried out between September 30 and October 1 in support of the Get Safe Online campaign found the UK’s adults have been spending longer 15 per cent online since lockdown began in March.
Of those surveyed, 22 per cent of adults said they spent more than eight hours a day online.
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Some 18 per cent of respondents said they were new to online shopping, and 62 per cent said they want more to be done to boost digital literacy.
Get Safe Online has launched a new “code of advice” to help consumers and businesses around the world stay secure on the internet during and after the current global pandemic.
“The global pandemic has been massively exploited by cybercriminals as more and more people use the internet and mobile and home devices to do work, relax, learn and connect with friends, family and loved ones,” Get Safe Online chief executive Tony Neate said.
“Our dependency on digital has meant many of us are now much more vulnerable. Our defences are down, distracted by the demands of dealing with Covid-19. It’s therefore vitally important that we all know simple measures to stay safe online. Our new code of advice will hopefully raise awareness and instil best practice.
“Of course, this is far from being just a UK problem. Online crime has no borders – criminals can be located anywhere in the world and, equally, don’t care who or where you are. They just want your money, and it’s particularly prevalent in English-speaking countries,” Neate added.
Get Safe Online have partnered with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to work with 24 nations across the Commonwealth as part of their campaign.
“The coronavirus pandemic highlights the importance of a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace,” FCDO Minister for National Security James Cleverly said.
“As more people use the internet to work and connect with people from home, it’s more important than ever that the international community co-operates to face the challenges posed by those using Covid-19 as an opportunity to undertake malicious cyber activity,” Cleverly added.
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