Cybercrime is a rising concern among British high net worth individuals (HNWIs), according to research from financial planning firm Saltus.
The company surveyed over 1,000 people in the UK with investable assets over £250,000 and an average net worth of £1.5m ($1.88m, €1.76m).
It found cybercrime is a much bigger concern among HNWIs than it was just six months ago. When ranking the biggest threats to their wealth, cyber threats were the fourth biggest worry for HNWIs – only topped by inflation, covid-19 and exchange rates.
Six months ago, Covid-19 was viewed by HNWIs as the main threat to their wealth, followed by inflation, return on investments, Brexit, and climate change.
Scammed
The rise of cybercrime fears comes in tandem with findings that 53% of HNWIs said they have been victim of a scam – up from 49% just six months ago.
Of those who had been a victim of a financial scam, 36% said they lost their money – £8,952 on average. Some 21% admitted to losing more than £10,000 and nearly one-in-25 said they lost more than £25,000.
The research found that those most likely to be targeted and lose money were the self-employed, where 74% said they had fallen victim to financial crime compared to 47% of employed respondents.
Some 41% of self-employed respondents who had been targeted said they lost their money, with losses averaging £9,272.
The data also revealed that the higher the net worth, the more likely the respondent was to say that they had been…
