Ireland 'most phished' country in the world, survey finds

Almost two-thirds of Irish adults have experienced phishing, making Ireland the most phished country in the world, according to new research.

Phishing involves the sending of fraudulent emails designed to trick people into disclosing personal information.

The Irish rate of phishing is almost twice the global average according to the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN).

The findings are contained in the WIN World Survey on data collection, misuse and AI.

Almost 34,000 people in 39 countries were surveyed for the study, including more than 1,000 people in Ireland.

RED C Research is the Irish member of the WIN network.

The study shows that over one-in-five Irish adults have experienced credit card fraud or have had their bank account hacked, nearly twice the global average of 12%.

Despite high incidence of fraud, just 23% of people know what happens to their personal information when it is shared with data collectors, lower than the global average of 30%.

Knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) was found to be poor in Ireland, with just 21% expressing a strong understanding, and even less among those over 55.

Ireland's understanding of AI is weaker compared to the global average.

"It is truly alarming to see that Ireland ranks as the number one country globally for phishing activity, especially when compared to significantly lower incident rates among several of our European counterparts," said Ciara Reilly, Group Director in RED C Research.

"This highlights an urgent need for immediate government intervention to enhance cybersecurity measures and educate the Irish public on safe data usage practices," Ms Reilly said.