According to Symantec’s “The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact”, cyber-crime is apparently much more prevalent worldwide than what it is perceived to be – a fact that actually perturbs the Internet users to a great extent.

The global survey by Symantec, involving the participation of 7000 Internet users, found that as many as 65 percent of the users had fallen prey to some kind of cyber-crime, either in the form of malware affecting their computers or online identity thefts.

More specifically, 83 percent of the users in China, 76 percent of users in Brazil and India, and 73 percent users in the US were reportedly victimized by cyber-crime at some point of time. It was further found that 58 percent users felt angry after being victimized; while 40 percent users felt cheated.

Furthermore, that the cyber-criminals would escape justice is a widespread belief was evident from the findings that almost 80 percent of the users felt the criminals will never be brought to book. In addition, 77 percent and 73 percent users blamed themselves for being tricked by online scams and malware attacks respectively.

Commenting on the findings, Adam Palmer, Norton lead cyber security advisor, said in a statement: “We all pay for cybercrime, either directly or through pass-along costs from our financial institutions. Cyber-criminals purposely steal small amounts to remain undetected, but all of these add up. If you fail to report a loss, you may actually be helping the criminal stay under the radar.”