Consumer Boundaries Skewed Between Cyber Crime and \u201cReal Life\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The study also revealed that 81 percent of Singaporean consumers surveyed believe cyber crime should be treated as a criminal act, and 37 percent think it\u2019s a fact of life to be accepted. However, when pressed, contradictions emerged, revealing that 23 percent of those surveyed believe stealing information online was not as bad as stealing property in \u2018real life.\u2019 When presented with examples of cyber crime, 40 percent of consumers believed it\u2019s sometimes acceptable to commit morally questionable online behaviors in certain instances, such as reading someone\u2019s emails (26 percent), using a false email or someone else’s email to identify themselves online (18 percent) and even accessing someone\u2019s financial accounts without their permission (13 percent).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The State of Consumers\u2019 Trust\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Singaporeans generally continue to trust the traditional institutions that manage their data and personal information. Consumers gained or maintained trust in organisations such as banks and financial institutions (20 percent), and identity theft protection service providers (15 percent) despite the attacks that made headlines this year. However, 23 percent of consumers lost trust in social media platforms to manage their data and personal information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Singaporean Parents Worried About Their Childrens\u2019 Online Activities; Most Take Precautionary Measures\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The 2017 NCSIR also sheds light on parents\u2019 worries about their childrens\u2019 online activities and the preventative measures they are putting in place to protect their little ones. Cyberbullying remains a top concern, with 86 percent of parents worried it will happen to their child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter was cyberbullied by some close friends in secondary school,\u201d said Edmund Chen. \u201cAs a parent, I was saddened and shocked that this had occurred. During that period, my daughter refused to go to school and even became skeptical of relationships.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n