11% of online vacation bookers have been victims of cyber scams

• According to a survey conducted by the cybersecurity company S2 Grupo, 16% of the people who participated in this study said that although they have not experienced this situation, they do know someone who has.

• Along with this, 16% said that they love to share their vacation photos in real time, 5.5% more than in 2020. This data shows that, although there is a growing awareness of the importance of cyberprotection on social networks, there is still work to be done.

Valencia, July 27, 2022 - The Valencian company S2 Grupo, specialized in cybersecurity as well as cyberintelligence and critical systems management, has conducted a survey on cybersecurity on vacations. One of the main findings is that 11% of those surveyed claim that they have been victims of cybercrime by having booked their vacations online.

In addition, 16% say that, although they have not suffered this type of incident, they have people in their close circle who have fallen into the traps of online criminals.

"In this area, cybercrime has focused mainly on vacation rental accommodations and car rentals. To avoid falling into their nets, it is important that we follow some good habits such as doubting a lot of bargains, this can already give us a clue that something is wrong. Or other recommendations are to detect many spelling mistakes on the web, make sure there is a contact phone number or do a Google search with that accommodation or car rental company to detect if there are negative opinions or complaints about it", explained José Rosell, managing partner of S2 Grupo.

Another essential point in relation to cybersecurity and vacations is the issue of sharing photos when we are away, as this can give a lot of information that we are not at home that can be used by cybercriminals.

In relation to this, 16% of respondents answered that they do like to share photos on their social networks in real time when they are traveling. However, to the same question, the response in the 2020 survey was 21.5%. 18% prefer to wait until they return home to share them.

"These data are relatively positive because they show an increase in cybersecurity awareness and culture in families. However, there is still work to be done in this area to safely use technology. It is important to remember to be careful when using public Wi-fis and not to access personal pages of banks or even social networks because these could be manipulated by cybercriminals who would have direct access to our data", said Miguel A. Juan, managing partner of S2 Grupo.

In addition, other recommendations are not to activate geopositioning in social networks, if we install tourist apps, check the permissions they request and monitor those that may be suspicious such as sending SMS messages, or reinforce the security of our devices by installing protection measures to prevent the thief from accessing the data in the event of theft and facilitate its recovery. For example, a complex unlocking key can be used. Any device has these capabilities and although they are not usually used, vacations are a good time to do so. In addition, it is advisable to install an application that facilitates recovery in case of theft or loss. Most manufacturers have such applications that allow, in addition to locating it, to remotely erase the data and perform many other actions.

More information:

prensa@s2grupo.es