But don’t worry, the Europeans are worse. The UK ranks thirteenth, with 68% having no idea how to report a cybercrime or illegal online behaviour. Yet, overall, on average, 77% of Europeans are clueless as to how they would report such a crime.
Over the last decade, the issue of cybercrime has propelled to the forefront of the public eye. So much so, governments around the world have set up governing and intelligence bodies to specifically deal with all matters related to cybercrime. Despite their presence, are people truly aware of them?
Interested in online safety, Reboot Online analysed the latest data from the European Commission, to discover which Europeans are the most unaware of how to report a cybercrime or any other illegal online behaviour in their respective country.
Unawareness refers to Europeans not knowing the existence of a website, email address, online form and/or contact number in their respective country to report a cybercrime or any other illegal online behaviour such as cyber harassment/bullying.
Reboot Online found that Spain and Denmark are in joint first place as 86% of citizens in each respective country do not have a clue on how to report a cybercrime.
In second position is Romania where 84% of Romanians admit to having no idea who or what they would contact to report a cybercrime.
France is in third place with 82% of French citizens stating they are unaware of the relevant avenues they could explore to report being a victim or witness to cybercrime.
Interestingly, 80% of citizens living in Lithuania, Portugal and Poland are unaware of how to report a cybercrime, respectively ranking joint fifth.
In thirteenth spot is UK where 68% of Brits confess to lacking the adequate know-how to alert relevant parties of a cybercrime. Additionally, 29% of Brits worryingly admit they do not feel well informed about the risks of cybercrime.
At the other end of the scale, those in Malta seem to be the most prepared to handle the aftermath of a cybercrime, with only 46% of citizens not knowing how to report one.
Shai Aharony, the co-founder and managing director of Reboot Online commented, “As cybercrimes become more sophisticated and dangerous, we must become more vigilant to protect ourselves online.
“Taking small actions such as familiarising yourself with government backed cybercrime agencies/bodies and applying their recommended best practices to your online actions can play a monumental role in reducing the risk of you becoming a victim of cybercrime.
“But this research also goes to show that these governmental cybercrime agencies/bodies need to better promote themselves to the public to make them aware of their role, operations, and support services when it comes to cybercrime.
“Whilst unawareness on how to report cybercrime in some European countries is worse than others, an active drive by relevant cybercrime agencies/bodies to come out the shadows and educate the public on what protocols to follow in the event of a cybercrime will remedy this information disparity.”
