Most Scam Victims Aren’t Who You’d Expect…

By Claims.co.uk

Shutterstock / fizkes ©

Pic: Shutterstock

More than 40 million Britons have been targeted by scammers this year, say Citizens Advice.

UK losses per person are higher than in other major Western economies such as the US, Canada and Australia. Named ‘fraud capital of the world’, total losses in the UK have crept up to almost £3bn a year!

So which type of person falls victim to scams the most?

Intrigued, Claims.co.uk examined official ONS survey data from 33,735 people over the age of 16, to uncover the most common characteristics of fraud and computer misuse victims in the UK.

With scammers on the rise, we also asked a cybersecurity expert for tips on keeping personal details safe online.

Individuals who fall victim to fraud are:

Age group	% of fraud victims	Occupation	% of fraud victims	Hours out of home on an average weekday	% of fraud victims	Number of evening visits to bar in last month	% of fraud victims
45-54	7.7	Managerial/ professional occupations	8.1	7 hours or longer	7.4	4+ times a month	7.9
55-64	7.3	Intermediate occupations	7.1	3 hours or more but less than 7 hours	6.5	1-3 times a month	7.8
25-34	7.2	Routine & manual occupations	5.4	Less than 3 hours	5.6	None	5.5
35-44	7.1	Full-time students	5.3	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
16-24	6.4	Not classified	5.2	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’

For the full data breakdown, click here.

Some surprising results…

The most popular belief is that elderly people are more vulnerable to scams.

In fact, Claims.co.uk can reveal that Generation X are actually the most reckless, with those aged 45-54 (7.7%) falling victim to fraud the most. This is 2.2% more than those aged 65-74 (who make up just 5.5% of scam victims).

Those with higher social status are the most likely to be scammed, with 8.1% of victims being professionals and managers.

A group of friends drinking wine at Christmas Pic: Istockphoto

Statistics show people who visit pubs more often are more likely to fall victim to scams. Pic: iStockphoto

Additionally, avid pub-goers, as well as people who are out of their home for the longest time (7 hours or more) are the most susceptible to fraud (7.4%) than those who leave home for less than three hours per day (5.6%).

The most common amount of financial loss suffered by victims is revealed to be around £100 to £249 (21.8%). Thankfully the biggest loss recorded (£40,000 or more) was only suffered by 0.5% of those scammed.

Households who fall victim to fraud are:

Structure of household	% of fraud victims	Total household income	% of fraud victims	Region	% of fraud victims
Single adult and child(ren)	8.9	£52,000 or more	9.1	South East	8.8
Adults and child(ren)	7.0	£41,600 to less than £52,000	8.0	East	8.1
Adult(s) and no children	6.4	£20,800 to less than £31,200	7.2	London	7.5
”	”	£31,200 to less than £41,600	6.5	East Midlands	7.2
”	”	£41,600 to less than £52,000	8.0	South West	6.0

North-south divide

Claims.co.uk can also reveal that fraudsters seem to target single adults with children (8.9%) the most, with adults without kids (6.4%) being the least likely to get scammed.

Mother and son having winter walk. Mother is blowing nose of her sick son.

Single parents are often targets – protect yourself as well as your family. Pic: iStockphoto

The wealthy are also popular targets, with 9.1% of households earning £52,000 or more falling victim to fraud.

Data also shows that South East residents are the most at risk of fraud, with 8.8% of respondents admitting to being scammed. This is 5% more than in the North East (3.8%) and 3.4% more than in Wales (5.4%).

Who gets caught out by computer scams?

The younger generation are found to be the most common victims of computer misuse, with online users aged between 25 to 34 years old (1.9%) being the most susceptible to cyber crime.

Moreover, data also reveals that laptops (53.4%) are the most popular device targeted by cybercriminals, followed by desktop computers (31.9%) and mobile phones (7.9%).

Teenage smiling girl using a laptop and wearing headphones,

Laptops account for more than half of cyber-attacks. Pic: Shutterstock

Take these 4 steps to stay safe online

As online scams become increasingly sophisticated, Jon Dukes, head of IT at DVAD, offers some guidance on how to keep your personal details safe online.

Create memorable passwords and two-factor authentication wherever possible

It’s now widely accepted that using complex passwords (a mixture of standard characters, numbers, and special characters) is not as useful as using four random words. This provides better password entropy (a measurement of how unpredictable, and therefore un-guessable, a password is). making it less likely that people will write down their passwords for others to find!

Adding two-factor authentication to online accounts also adds an extra layer of protection, by requesting information beyond just a username and password.

Always keep your devices updated

Every electronic device (tablet, mobile phone, laptop) uses a software operating system. These operating systems regularly release software updates to help keep your device protected from viruses, and should be installed as soon as possible. This is to prevent scammers from accessing your personal information through new malware developments.

Illustration: Shutterstock

Do not open unsolicited emails

Many fraudulent transactions start with a phishing email, so avoid opening any unexpected emails – even if they look trustworthy! Links within these emails should also be ignored as they can automatically infect your device with malware.

Banks, insurance companies and government bodies will not send emails asking users to confirm any of their personal information.

Install anti-virus software

All your electronic devices should have up-to-date anti-virus software installed to prevent personal information from being stolen by scammers.

Anti-virus software with additional anti-spyware capabilities will also further prevent unsolicited programs from tracking your online activity, and scanning your devices for personal information such as bank details.