Phishing is the practice of sending phony emails to recipients with the intention of fooling them into divulging personal information.

The Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN) reports that the incidence of phishing in Ireland is about twice as high as the global average.

The WIN World Survey on data collecting, abuse, and artificial intelligence contains the findings.

Over 1,000 respondents in Ireland were among the over 34,000 respondents questioned for the study, which was conducted in 39 countries.

The Irish participant in the WIN network is RED C Research.

According to the survey, more than half of Irish adults—nearly twice the global average of 12%—have either been the victim of credit card fraud or bank account hacking.

Just 23% of individuals, less than the 30% global average, are aware of what happens to their personal information when it is provided with data collectors, despite the high prevalence of fraud.

In Ireland, just 21% of respondents said they had a deep grasp of artificial intelligence (AI), and the percentage dropped significantly lower for those over 55.

Ireland's grasp of AI is not as strong as it is worldwide.