GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A new report from the Better Business Bureau shows that people who live alone or have low financial literacy levels are more likely to be scammed.
The research also showed that the highest engagement and victimization rates involve online purchases and social media ahead of telephone, mail and email fraud.
In the study, titled "Exposed to Scams: What Separates Victims from Non-Victims," researchers surveyed more than 1,000 Americans and Canadians who were targeted by scammers and reported the fraud to the BBB. Nearly half of those surveyed did not engage with the scammer, but nearly a quarter did, losing an average of $600.
► For the full report, click here.
Some key findings include:
- When phone and email were used by scammers to target consumers, relatively few consumers engaged with the scammer or lost money. However, when exposed to a scam on social media, 91 percent engaged and 53 percent lost money. Similarly, 81 percent of consumers who were exposed to a fraud via a website said they engaged and 50 percent lost money.
- Consumers were more likely to be victimized if they did not have anyone to discuss the offer with. Consequently, those who engaged scammers and lost money were less likely to be married and more likely to be widowed or divorced. Generally, those who engaged, and those who lost money, reported significantly higher feelings of loneliness. Social isolation appears to play a role in fraud victimization.
- The likelihood of victimization for this sample is greater for individuals who are under financial strain, are younger adults, or have low levels of financial literacy.
- Research showed that 51 percent of people who reported a third-party intervention were able to avoid losing money. Cashiers, bank tellers, employees of wire transfer services and other financial services companies where consumers were about to send money to a scammer, served as an important last line of defense.
- Nearly half of those surveyed said the news media was their primary source of information about scams. Word of mouth was the next best form of protection and awareness.
To learn more about scams, visit BBB.org/scamtips.
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