Representative image of smartphone.
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Mumabi: As high as 17% of citizens (of those surveyed) admit to storing their important passwords (ATM, debit/credit cards, bank accounts, app/play store) in their mobile contact list, mobile notes or another place on the phone making them highly vulnerable to data theft, according to a survey by LocalCircles.
Around 34% share their passwords with others; 53% say they or someone in the family has experienced financial fraud in the last 5 years, according to the LocalCircles, which is a community social media platform enables citizens and small businesses to escalate
issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in late May disclosed very concerning data which indicated that bank frauds were up by 300% in last two years and digital frauds were up by 708%. While these numbers are shocking, what LocalCircles has learnt in its previous surveys on the subject is that six in 10 Indians do not report financial frauds to regulators or law enforcement agencies. In the event when the fraud value is less than Rs 1000, nine in 10 do not report the same.
Despite the many known risks, it has become the norm for agencies like the airlines, hotels, and visa agents to seek proof of ID, with some even insisting on taking a photocopy for their records.
The survey next asked citizens, “What are all the identities that you have submitted a photocopy/ printout/ digital version of for various applications, proofs, hotels, other bookings, etc., in the last 5 years?” Some among the 12,131 respondents to the question indicated more than one option. The largest group or 97% indicated “Aadhar”; 68% indicated “Pan Card”; 38% indicated “driving license”; 37% indicated “voter ID card”; 32% indicated "passport”; and 6% indicated "other identities”. In essence, Aadhaar, PAN card and driving license are the top three identities that citizens have shared in the last 5 years for various applications, proofs, bookings, stays.
"Theft of mobile phones, credit/ debit cards, laptops, etc., are often reported by citizens. If the culprits are able to get access to the password/ pin, it can easily invariably lead to financial losses for the individual.
The survey next asked citizens, “Did you or someone in your immediate family experience financial fraud in the last 5 years?” Out of 11,942 citizens who responded to the question 53% stated “yes” they or their family members have faced financial frauds in the last 5 years, while 47% of respondents stated “No” they or their family members did not face such a situation,” the report by LocalCircles say.
The survey received over 48,000 responses from citizens located in 367 districts of India. 63% respondents were men while 37% respondents were women. 40% respondents were from tier 1, 26% from tier 2 and 34% respondents were from tier 3 & 4 districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.