You may love the convenience of spending, paying and saving online, but does electronic commerce really feel like putting a loaded gun to your head? More than four in ten online bankers and shoppers seem to think so.

According to  a survey that looked at the “attitudes towards online shopping and banking” conducted by Entersekt – a mobile security company and carried out by OnePoll – four out of ten consumers suspect they are playing a pretty risky game by conducting financial transactions online.

The study of 1,000 people, found that while the individuals questioned love it, rely on it, and aren’t willing to give it up, 41% are convinced their accounts will be breached in the future, making it comparable to playing Russian Roulette.

An additional 53% have either been directly affected by, or know someone who has fallen victim to card fraud.

In the physical world customers are reluctant to let their credit cards out of their sight with only 13% doing so in the last six months when completing a transaction in a shop or restaurant. However, slightly less consideration is shown online with just two thirds (69%) of people making sure they know how secure their transaction will be before completing the process.

There’s also a distinct difference in approaches to online transactions when researchers looked at the habits of men and women.   For example, women had greater reservations about the security of online banking and shopping with 51% worried about conducting financial transactions, versus 41% of males.

The survey also revealed that 72% of women will look at how secure the transaction process will be versus 65% of males. However, both sexes are agreed that they would change their bank because of lack of security (70%).

Most folks are also uninformed about who bears the cost  when a card was used without authorization. It seems that 85% believe it is the bank or card issuer. In fact, when fraud occurs, it is the merchant who is ultimately responsible and gets hit financially.

Contrary to some perceptions, 78% of consumers are in favour of using keys, fobs and passwords issued by banks in an effort to increase security. In fact, only 18% would prefer reduced security as a payoff to having less hassle. And over two thirds of online consumers would change their bank if they thought it was lacking in security.

Schalk Nolte from Entersekt explained, “In today’s world, consumers are not only aware that fraud exists, but many have either experienced it personally, or know someone that has and this is verified by our survey. This criminality impacts all of us through increased insurance, increased prices, and increased hassle. However, what I think is interesting and actually quite comforting, is that people are happy to be inconvenienced if it means they’re better protected.”

Tags: banking, e-commerce, online, security