SYDNEY, Feb. 9, 2023 – A new survey conducted online among 1,006 adults 18+ in Australia by The Harris Poll on behalf of Norton, a consumer Cyber Safety brand of GenTM (NASDAQ: GEN), uncovered that over half of Australian respondents (55%) who are actively using or have previously used a dating app/website have conducted an online background search into potential partners, including: looking up their social media profile (37%), typing their name into a search engine (22%), and/or going through their profile on a professional networking site (17%). The report also showed 40% of online daters have decided to cut their interaction short by unmatching or declining a date after uncovering unsettling information about them.
The report further revealed that more than 1 in 5 Australians surveyed (22%) have fallen victim to an online dating/romance scam. As a result of online dating/romance scams, nearly 6 in 10 victims (59%) have suffered financial losses, with an average reported loss of $224.
Overall, Australians aren’t doing enough to avoid online dating/romance scams; less than a quarter of Australians surveyed who have used a dating website/app (22%) have used something other than their full name on a dating app/website, less than 1 in 10 (9%) have shared their location with a friend or family member prior to meeting a person they met online, and just 9% unmatched with someone after spotting signs indicative of a scammer.
“The fact that so many Australians continue to fall victim to romance scams is quite concerning. Securing your devices along with personal information and protecting your digital identity is not only paramount for your Cyber Safety, but also for your physical and mental wellbeing. I would encourage anyone delving into online dating space to exercise caution and take steps to keep your information safe,” said Mark Gorrie, Asia Pacific Managing Director at Gen.
Similarly, to online daters, some Australians in romantic relationships also engage in “online creeping.” Nearly a quarter of those in romantic relationships surveyed (24%) admit to checking in on their current or former partners without their knowledge or consent, including 35% of Gen Z and 38% of Millennials. Among those who have checked in on a current or former partner, the most common reason for doing so was simply out of curiosity (37%), while 30% did so because they suspected their partner was “up to no good.”

Gen Z and Millennials are also more accepting of online creeping, with 31%* of Gen Z and 32% of Millennials surveyed saying they don’t care if they are being stalked online by a current/former partner as long as they aren’t being stalked in person. The report revealed 31%* of Gen Z and 27% of Millennials also believe online stalking is okay if one or both partners have or are suspected of cheating. 21%* of Gen Z and 25% of Millennials say they would be more likely to stalk a current/former partner online if they knew they would not get caught. These figures are more than two times the percentage of older adults (age 58+).

To view the study’s full results and accompanying visual assets, please visit the 2023 Norton Cyber  Safety Insights Report: – Online Creeping press kit at: https://newsroom.gendigital.com/2023-Norton Cyber-Safety-Insights-Report-Special-Release-Online-Creeping 

About the 2023 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report: Special Release – Online Creeping The research was conducted online in Australia by The Harris Poll on behalf of Norton LifeLock among  1,006 adults (aged 18+), of which 54 are Gen Z (ages 18-25), 238 are Millennials (ages 26-42), 265 are  Gen X (ages 43-57), and 449 are Boomers/Seniors (ages 58+). The survey was conducted November 29 – December 19, 2022. Data are weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their actual  proportions in the population; Weighted variables included the following: age, gender, region,  education, and urbanicity. 

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our  surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±3.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.  

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple  sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to  coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and  response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. 

About Norton 

Norton is a leading Cyber Safety brand of Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to  powering Digital Freedom through its family of trusted consumer brands including Norton,  Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner. Gen empowers people to live their digital  lives safely, privately, and confidently today and for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning  products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy and identity protection to more than 500 million  users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at au.norton.com and gendigital.com. 

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* Caution small base size (n<100); results are directional