A new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) research has revealed that over £25 million was lost to screen sharing scams between January 2021 and 31 March 2022, where around 47% of investors failed to identify a screen sharing scam.

Screen sharing scam cases have surged sharply in the last one year, with one victim losing over £48,000, which has prompted the watchdog to launch a campaign to tackle the increasing scam. As the pandemic has increased reliance on the internet, such scams are on the rise as scammers have greater access to financial details on a victim’s device.

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The data showed an increase of 86% in the number of screen-sharing scams when the numbers of cases were compared between July-December 2020 and the same period in 2021. The victims’ age group was between 18 and 70 years.  

According to a survey of 2,000 people, around 26% of victims agreed to share their screens for online banking or investment portal with someone whom they don’t know personally.

The survey revealed that around 88% respondent said that around 91% of respondents said they will not share their financial details with a stranger in the future, but 85% of these respondents would not suspect a request by a website, or company to download software can be a scam to gain illegal access to personal financial information on their device.

Let us look at 3 FTSE-listed cybersecurity stocks that can be considered by the investors. 

Darktrace Plc (LON: DARK)

With a current market cap of £2,978.23 million, the share value of the FTSE 250 listed information technology company that specialises in cyber-defence has appreciated by 36.54% over the last one year as of 5 May 2022, while its year-to-date return stands at 26.08%. Darktrace Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 437.30, up by 2.70% at 9:30 AM (GMT), as of 5 May 2022.

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Crossword Cybersecurity Plc (LON: CCS)

With a market cap of £21.36 million, the share value of the FTSE AIM All-Share listed technology commercialisation company that focuses exclusively on the cyber-security sector has depreciation by -37.00% over the last one year as of 5 May 2022, while its year-to-date return stands at -20.97%. Crossword Cybersecurity Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 28.50, at 9:30 AM (GMT), as of 5 May 2022.

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Kape Technologies Plc (LON: KAPE)

With a market cap of £1,265.48 million, the share value of the FTSE AIM 100 Index listed technology commercialisation company that focuses exclusively on the cyber-security sector has appreciated by 23.08% over the last one year as of 5 May 2022, while its year-to-date return stands at -19.12%. Kape Technologies Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 365.00, up by 3.69% at 9:30 AM (GMT), as of 5 May 2022.

Also Read: NXT, KGF, TSCO: Stocks to eye as retail prices surge to the highest level 

Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on market trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.