Generation “Net” Most Susceptible to Online Scams

Survey results indicate that certain demographic groups are more susceptible than others. Interestingly, the age group most susceptible to online scams are Generation "Net" 16 to 25 year old Australians, with 70 percent of respondents in this demographic indicating that they are likely to provide their mobile number to redeem a prize online, for example. Regionally, New South Wales is the most susceptible state, while respondents from Queensland are the least. The study results also indicated that men in Australia are more susceptible to online scams than women.
 Yet when asked specifically about online advertisers' motivations, over half (52%) of Australian respondents indicated they think online advertisers are either trying to trick them or steal their personal information for reasons other than stated. While results indicate that Australia is the least susceptible to online scams, the US the most and the UK falling somewhere in between, only nine percent of Australian respondents identified an online survey offering a prize as a scam compared to 26 percent in the US when specifically asked about online surveys.
While the majority of Aussie respondents think they would be unlikely to provide their personal or financial information in each of the tested scenarios, they do not say the same about their mates. While just 37 percent of respondents believe they are likely to give their mobile number to claim a prize online, 51 percent believed their friends would be likely to do the same.
Unfortunately, many consumers don't realise that some online scams don't involve malware. So, while traditional Internet security is essential to maintain protection against viruses and malicious files and websites, cybercriminals are changing their methods by tricking consumers into revealing their personal information, and this requires a very different protection approach online.