DUBAI // More than half of banks and other financial institutions do not investigate internet fraud cases despite reimbursing customers who were victims of cybercrime.
A survey by internet security company Kaspersky Labs and B2B International found 52 per cent of financial companies around the world, including the GCC, paid back losses incurred by their customers.
A third of the companies said they believed the cost due to cybercrime was less than they would need to pay to protect their services.
“Besides the need for financial companies to set aside funds in their budgets to reimburse money stolen from customers, they also have to cover the cost of dealing with customer complaints,” said Ross Hogan, global head of Kaspersky Lab’s fraud prevention division.
“But most importantly, even if the victims are reimbursed quickly, they are likely to think twice about using the services of a bank that can’t ensure their online accounts are secure,” said Mr Hogan.
“It is better to prevent the loss rather than compensate it.”
Cybercriminals were increasingly targeting online payments, which would result in considerable expenses for companies.
The poll revealed that 28 per cent of financial company representatives and 32 per cent of online shop employees believed that the total losses from stolen money did not exceed the cost of protecting transactions.
Only 19 per cent of financial institutions and seven per cent of online marketplaces believed compensating customer losses was in the top three costs incurred as a consequence of cybercrime.
Kaspersky said four million users of its products had encountered malware that attempted to steal their money last year – an increase of 18.6 per cent over 2012.
In December last year alone, North American bank customers lost more than US$200 million (Dh734.5m) following the leaking of bank card and personal data.
Kaspersky warned that the continued growth of cybercrime will result in increasing costs for protection and compensation.
nhanif@thenational.ae
