Survey Finds Facebook Is The Most 'Abusive' Social Media
The survey for Stop Cyber Bullying Day (16th June) shows the scale of racist, religion based, and homphobic abuse seen online
Research shows that under 25s are now more than twice as likely to be caught out by phishing scams than baby boomers; and suffer a greater impact if they do fall victim. The most common email scams are also revealed!
New research produced for this year's Get Safe Online Week - which starts today (23rd October) shows that under 25s are now more than twice as likely to be caught out by phishing scams than baby boomers.
Under 25s 'More Trusting Online'
Cyber experts are blaming the rise in teenage and 20-something victims on being more trusting of online communication than older generations.
Evidence from the report also revealed:
Impact Of Phishing On Young People
Younger people are more likely to experience longer-term damage from phishing attacks. While only 3% of casualties over 55 reported losing ‘a large amount of money which affected my lifestyle and finances’, a quarter of younger victims’ lifestyle and finances were severely compromised.
Youngsters were ten times more likely to suffer mental health issues after being targeted, with 29% saying the crime attempt impacted them compared to just 3% of over 55s.
In Warwickshire, you can contact Victim Support for support following a cyber crime incident. You can contact them online or by calling 01926 682 693.
Despite the increase in young cyber crime victims, older Brits (47%) are still more likely to be targeted by online criminals compared to their younger counterparts (36%).
Overall, nearly half of fraud reported in the UK is now committed through cybercrime, according to data collected by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). Half (49%) of all Brits have been targeted, with 8% of the UK population falling victim to the cybercriminals.
The research also looked at the frequency of phishing, revealing that almost two thirds (64%) of people have received a phishingemail within the last year, and one in five (19%) within the last month, as cyber gangs step up activity. Worryingly, one in ten (10%) has been targeted upwards of ten times.
Most Common Con
The report showed the most common phishing con is a fake email claiming to be from a bank or other financial organisation, asking for consumers to change or verify their login details.
Over half (51%) received this type of email, followed by 33% who were sent an email from a company asking them to update logins or provide account details.
Reporting Incidents
Official figures from the NFIB show 152,583 cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes were reported to Action Fraud in the last year. But real numbers maybe far higher, with just 27% of the 1,500 Brits polled for the study reporting their own experiences.
When asked how they dealt with the unwanted emails, over a quarter (27%) reported it to an industry body and the same number to their email provider. However, one in ten (10%) ignored it, one in 16 (6%) panicked and one in 33 (3%) even bought a new laptop in response to being targeted.
If you do fall victim to a phishing scam, you can report the incident to Action Fraud online or via 0300 123 2040.