$158 billion lost worldwide to cybercrime in 2015

More than half of U.S. consumers think that storing their credit and banking information in the cloud is more risky than driving without a seat belt, according to a new report from Symantec.

Those consumers are correct, and the other half of them need to change their thinking – or their wallets may take a hit.
 
The Symantec report states that consumers globally lost $158 billion to cybercrime in the past year.
 
"In the U.S. alone, the figure is nearly $30 billion. Last year, 594 million people worldwide were victims of online crime. Consumers who have been the victim of cybercrime lost an average of 21 hours over the past year dealing with the fallout, and nearly $358 on average per person, enough for a year of home security monitoring.
 
More than one-third (36%) of people who share passwords in the United States have shared the password to their banking account. Most consumers are failing the most basic requirement of online security.
 
Of those using passwords, less than half of consumers "always" use a secure password. And one in three do not have a password on their smartphone or desktop computer at all.
 
Experts recommend consumers to use unique, smart, secure passwords for all of online accounts.
 
 
 

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