Ars Technica quotes a recent study by Microsoft that found that 58% of American consumers didn’t even know “online threats” existed. The study also found that of the ones that did know about said threats, 17% of them had fallen for some sort of Internet scam—and 81% of those people said it was their fault for opening suspicious emails or sending information to strange companies because they had a nice logo.

Sigh. Consumer Reports says Internet scams have cost American consumers $7 billion dollars since 2005. According to Consumer Reports, between spam, spyware, phishing, and viruses—you have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming a “cybervictim.”

Please: Tell a friend! Internet scams exist—and we’ve heard rumors that knowing is half the battle.

Half of Americans clueless about online threats [Ars Technica]
U.S. CONSUMERS LOSE MORE THAN $7 BILLION TO ONLINE THREATS, CONSUMER REPORTS SURVEY FINDS [Consumer Reports]
(Photo:Getty)

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