We recently surveyed 2,000 people across the UK to gain a snapshot of how fraud and scams can affect everyday lives. While fraudsters target everyone, find out who is commonly targeted, what habits may put people at risk, and what you can do to help stay safe from scams.
Fraud affects millions of us
Our survey found that just over one in 10* (11%) people have been a victim of a scam where they’ve lost money to a fraudster following contact by email, phone, text, or on a fake website.
While most scam attempts are thankfully unsuccessful, nearly two-thirds of our respondents experience someone trying to scam them at least once a month, with it being a daily occurrence for 13% of people.
On average, scam victims have lost £1,472 over the last year. But the impact isn’t just felt in the pocket, fraudsters also erode our confidence – with one respondent stating they can no longer trust contractors in their home, and another stating they are more cautious when shopping online.
have been a victim of a scam or targeted by one
targeted by scams at least monthly
lost on average to scams
Fraudsters target everyone
A substantial 75% of UK adults believe that older people are more likely to be scammed. But fraudsters don’t discriminate, we found that age doesn’t matter when it comes to who is most susceptible to fraud.
In fact, 17% of 18-34-year-olds said they had lost money to a fraudster, compared to just 9% of 55+ year-olds.
This surprising disparity is also reflected in people’s confidence when it comes to scams – with nearly a third (32%) of people aged 18-34 saying they feel vulnerable to scam attacks, compared to 22% of 35-54-year-olds and 16% of those over 55.
It’s clear that modern-day fraud is affecting the younger generations more than expected.
The more we share online, the greater the risk
The tendency of the younger generations to share more online could explain why they’re scammed more than other groups. 30% of 18-34-year-olds said that they share login details to streaming services, compared to 6% of people aged over 55.
25% said they’ve uploaded a photo to social media with information on their computer screen visible in the background of the picture, while only 2% of over 55s have done this.
In addition, 31% of 18-34-year-olds have ignored a notification about their passwords being involved in a data leak, compared to 19% of those aged 35 to 54 and 12% of over 55s.
Fraudsters can feed on information you put online, so it’s possible certain habits could be putting people at greater risk.
Across all groups, one in 10 (11%) of UK adults have sent images of their debit or credit card by message or email. While 36% admit to using the same or similar password across all their online accounts.
of people feel vulnerable to scams
have ignored a notification about their passwords being leaked
use the same or similar password for all online accounts
Phishing is a big concern
Our research suggests that the nature of scams is evolving – and this needs to be met with high levels of vigilance.
37% of people said they’re finding it increasingly difficult to identify phishing scams as they become more sophisticated, and 56% say they are concerned about friends and family falling for a phishing attempt.
Perhaps worryingly, over a third (35%) of UK adults feel that it’s now almost impossible to identify genuine emails and messages from phishing attempts.
But promisingly, people are alert to such threats, with two-thirds (66%) saying they are being more vigilant to phishing as methods get more sophisticated.
35% feel it’s almost impossible to identify genuine messages from phishing attempts.
Staying safe from scams starts with you
Anyone can be a victim of fraud, but our findings show that the risk could depend on your mindset and vigilance.
Think SCAM by following our Stop, Check, Act and Monitor approach. It can help you remain vigilant, protect yourself from the modern fraudster’s tactics, and be safer online.
For more information on what you can do to protect yourself from fraud, visit our security centre.
Other helpful links
*We partnered with Opinium to survey 2,000 UK adults (aged 18+) in July 2024. All statistics referenced on this page are taken from the results of that survey.
This article has been prepared with care; however it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive.
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