(Strasbourg) In 2019, one in three EU citizens, aged 16 to 74, reported security issues in the last 12 months while using the Internet for private purposes. This has been found by a survey, published by Eurostat today to coincide with Safer Internet Day. “In this period, phishing, which means receiving fraudulent messages through the web, is the issue that has been most frequently reported in 2019. In the EU, 25% of people state they have been the victims of it. Redirecting users to fake websites asking for personal information (pharming) was the second most frequently experienced security issue (12% of people). “The proportion of people who had security problems when using the Internet for private purposes – Eurostat points out – depends on which EU member state. The highest rates were those observed in countries where access to and use of the web is widest, i.e. Denmark (50%), followed by France (46%), Sweden (45%), Malta and the Netherlands (both at42%), Finland (41%) and Germany (40%). Conversely, the lowest rates were recorded in Lithuania (7%), Poland (9%), Latvia (10%), Bulgaria (13%) and Greece (13%).