Omdia survey finds phishing assaults prime smartphone safety concern for shoppers By Investing.com

LONDON, Jan. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A brand new survey  from Omdia reveals that phishing scams are the main safety menace for smartphone customers, with 24% of respondents reporting they’ve fallen sufferer to those assaults. Phishing, which incorporates fraudulent texts, emails, or calls designed to trick people into revealing delicate private info, stays a major concern as cybercriminals proceed to take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers.

Omdia surveyed 1,572 shoppers throughout the Americas, Asia & Oceania, and Europe in October 2024 for the fourth annual Omdia Cell System Safety Scorecard.  The survey discovered that the subsequent most typical safety situation was malware and viruses, adopted by bodily theft, corresponding to pickpocketing, mugging, or snatching.

In Omdia’s latest evaluation of main premium smartphones, Google (NASDAQ:)’s Pixel 9 Professional and Samsung (KS:)’s Galaxy S24 outperformed Apple (NASDAQ:)’s iPhone 16 Professional and different Android-based gadgets, together with the OnePlus 12, Xiaomi (OTC:) 14, and Honor Magic 6 Professional. Anti-phishing safety proved to be a weak spot throughout all gadgets, as none efficiently intercepted all phishing texts, calls and emails.    

Simulated spam calls revealed that every one Android gadgets from Google, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Honor, and Samsung efficiently flagged suspected spam calls earlier than customers answered, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional lacked comparable voice name safety.  

Not one of the examined gadgets absolutely No  gadget flagged simulated phishing emails from Gmail as phishing, solely figuring out them as spam when despatched from Google’s SMTP.  

Regardless of gaps in detecting phishing texts and emails, gadgets with Google Secure Looking protections efficiently blocked the hyperlink from opening, displaying a warning display screen and requiring consumer affirmation to proceed. Efficiency throughout browsers diverse considerably: Samsung Web successfully blocked most hyperlinks, together with superior customized URLs, whereas Xiaomi Mii and OnePlus Web browsers did not warn customers about identified malicious hyperlinks, underscoring inconsistencies in Android gadget’s safety.

“The lack of security protection, particularly against the growing threat of phishing attacks, is eroding consumer trust,” stated Omdia Senior Analyst, Aaron West. “When consumers were asked if their trust following a security issue increased (due to how well the issue was handled) or decreased, 73% reported they had reduced trust in the smartphone brand and operating system developer.”    

“Despite the latest protections in place by some manufacturers, it is difficult to protect 100% against phishing attempts, highlighting the severity of the issue and potential impact to consumers. That said, smartphone manufacturers can (demonstrated by the more advanced phishing protection capabilities available) and should have a better baseline of phishing protection “ such as voice call protection, and all Android devices making use of Google’s Safe Browsing protections,” stated Hollie Hennessy, Principal Analyst, Omdia. “This needs to be paired with awareness activity from manufacturers and the wider industry to help consumers be vigilant and prepared”.

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Fasiha Khan: fasiha.khan@omdia.com