Indians risk online security for diet tips: Intel Security

Three out of four youngsters in India are likely to click on promotional links related to diet tips and programmes and a large section among them are even willing to share their credit/debit card details if such tips take them a step closer to achieving desired results, an Intel Security survey shows.

The study conducted in multiple countries by the chip giant's security unit in April involved more than 15,000 people between ages 21-54. In India, the study included responses from nearly 1,500 people.

"Findings from our study indicate that Indian millennials (aged 20-30) are conscious about their diet, and they tend to rely on information available online for quick diet fixes, and cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting this behavior for their own benefit," Venkat Krishnapur, Head of Operations for Intel Security's India Engineering Centre, said in a statement.

The survey indicated that 77 per cent of youngsters between the age group of 21-30 years are likely to click on promotional links around diet tips and programmes.

Many respondents reported their willingness to share information like email address (79 per cent), full name (72 per cent) or age (53 per cent) with a website, service or company in hopes of reaching their goal weight or dream body.

A significant number of respondents indicated that they would also share their home address (28 per cent), credit/debit card details (13 per cent), or even a photo in underwear/bathing suit with before/after shots (6 per cent).

Yet one out of four respondents (25 per cent) admitted that they did not know how to check if the website was secure before providing payment details or personal information.

The study revealed that 44 per cent of survey respondents purchased a service or product from a promotional link without knowing whether or not it is a secure site.

"Offers from sites that seem too good to be true, such as 'Lose 5 kg in one week,' may indicate that a site should be viewed with caution. Websites or emails might include phishing links that can lead you to websites that lure you into giving personal information to cybercriminals or download malware to your computer," the study noted.

--IANS

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