10% of cryptocurrency holders surveyed made no attempt to protect their assets; victimization varied by age.

Cybersecurity services provider Kaspersky has released a report on the risks associated with cryptocurrency usage. The report, titled “Cryptocurrency Threats 2023,” focuses on the United States and reveals some surprisingly bad user security habits.

Kaspersky surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults in October 2022 and found that 24% of respondents own cryptocurrency or digital assets overall. Ownership rates ranged from 36% in the 25-44 age group to 10% in the 55 or older age group.

One-third of crypto owners surveyed reported having their cryptocurrency stolen, while the same percentage reported being victims of fraud. Identity theft, stolen payment details, and loss of account access led to fraud consequences.

The average value of stolen assets was $97,583. However, the median is much lower, as only 29% of thefts were worth more than $10,000, while 39% were worth $1,000 or less. Here, too, there is a clear age difference, with 47% of 18-24 year olds reporting cryptocurrency thefts, compared to 8% of those over 55. The report does not specify the average value of cryptocurrency holdings.

Lax security measures may be responsible for many of the losses experienced by respondents. The survey found that cryptocurrency owners who last checked their cryptocurrencies six weeks ago had the least protection in their accounts:

“27% of users store their cryptocurrencies in exchange accounts without additional protection, while only 34% use multi-factor authentication to protect their accounts.”

10% of respondents said they make no effort to protect their cryptocurrencies, and 14% claimed not to store seed phrases or private keys. The report concluded:

“There is no regulation or accepted common sense that people need to take care to protect themselves.”

Kaspersky said in an earlier report that users are becoming more sophisticated in spotting scams, and the use of Bitcoin

Bitcoin

As regulation and tracking methods improve, ransomware attacks will decrease. It warned in a previous report that the risk of exploitation in the metaverse is rising.

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