Tech proficiency is clearly not enough to protect you from online fraud, according to a new study by online authentication service Social Catfish. In the past three years, the number of people under the age of 20-the "Generation Z" who grew up on smartphones and the Internet-reported that they were victims of online fraud by 156 per cent, the fastest growth of all age groups, followed by people over the age of 60, with an increase of 112 per cent.
"it's worrying," said David McClellan (David McClellan), president of Social Catfish. We think that the generation that is most proficient in the Internet is the place with the fastest growth in the number of people who have been defrauded. "
Among people under the age of 21, about 23200 people complained to the FBI Cyber Crime Complaints Center last year (9000 in 2017), resulting in a loss of about $71 million ($8.3 million in 2017).
"people in this age group are happy to disclose their lives online," McClellan said. So it makes it very easy for them to trust others on the Internet. "
But while complaints from the younger generation in the United States are growing the fastest, overall, more older people have become victims. Last year, there were about 105300 online fraud complaints among people aged 60 and older, resulting in losses totaling $966 million, the study said.
Overall, victims of all ages lost a total of $4.2 billion in 2020, according to a report by FBI as part of the Social Catfish study.