No exercise, no dieting, no juice cleanse - Lose 5Kgs in a week!

No you can’t.

Three out of four youngsters in India are likely to click on promotional links related to diet tips and programmes- An Intel Security Study. Just when you thought you don’t really need an online security study to tell you that weight loss ads like “lose 5kgs in a week” are fake, you discover that you actually do need it and how! An Intel security Study reveals that 71% of Indians fall prey to phony weight loss ads. And get this; almost all of them are well aware that clicking on such links may open them up to online security dangers.

The study conducted in multiple countries by Intel’s security unit in April involved more than 15,000 people between ages 21-54. In India, the study included responses from nearly 1,500 people. And here’s a glimpse of what the survey uncovers.

Intel Security study: Online Security Diet: You Are What You Click

77 per cent of youngsters between the age group of 21-30 years are likely to click on promotional links around diet tips and programmes.

Many respondents reported their willingness to share information like email address (79 per cent), full name (72 per cent) or age (53 per cent) with a website, service or company in hopes of reaching their goal weight or dream body.

A significant number of respondents indicated that they would also share their home address (28 per cent), credit/debit card details (13 per cent), or even a photo in underwear/bathing suit with before/after shots (6 per cent).

Yet one out of four respondents (25 per cent) admitted that they did not know how to check if the website was secure before providing payment details or personal information.

The study revealed that 44 per cent of survey respondents purchased a service or product from a promotional link without knowing whether or not it is a secure site.
No wonder then that there has been a huge spurt in the weight loss ads (fake ones) that are flickering for our attention on all our devices. But we should know that not only are you not losing weight but you are also exposing yourself to cybercriminals!

Venkat Krishnapur, Head of Operations for Intel Security’s India Engineering Centre says, “Findings from our study indicate that Indian millennials (aged 20-30) are conscious about their diet, and they tend to rely on information available online for quick diet fixes, and cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting this behavior for their own benefit.”

While there are multiple helpful sites and ads that actually help you a great deal in achieving your goals, there are a lot more waiting to exploit your interest. Most of these fake weight loss sites/ads are created by cybercriminals who are on a lookout to lay the best possible digital trap for you. So be careful before you fall for that ‘too good to be true’ clickbait! AND #ExerciseRules

Image: Indiatimes