Young people are fraudsters’ biggest targets because they don’t check their bank statements
Since 2014, people aged between 20 and 29 years old faced a 5.7 per cent rise in detected fraud
YOUNG people are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters than pensioners because they don't check their bank statements, new research has found.
The elderly are often seen as a prime target for fraudsters as they tend to have accessible savings and are less tech savvy.
But data from credit checking firm Experian revealed that people aged between 20 to 29 years old are now the most likely group to fall victim to fraud.
Since 2014, young people within this age group faced a 5.7 per cent rise in detected fraud.
This compares to a 5.8 fall for people aged over 60, suggesting they have heeded advice to monitor their statements for suspicious activity and became more wary of scam emails.
Nick Mothershaw, director of fraud and identity solutions at Experian, said young people are used to living their lives online, so they may not be monitoring their post so often for statements.
“[Younger people ] often live in accommodation with shared mail areas, which provides an opportunity for fraudsters to intercept their post,” Mr Mothershaw said.
“Fraud can happen to anyone and it’s important not to get complacent. If you do use online statements then make time to check them each month, and keep an eye on your credit report for unexpected applications,” he added.
Top tips to protect yourself from scams
- NEVER give out personal or financial information on the phone or by email. Your bank, the police or any other organisation will never ask you for these in full.
- Never allow someone remote access to your computer following a cold call
- Don’t rely on caller ID – numbers can be spoofed by fraudsters to make it look like they’re calling from a trusted number
- Your bank, the police or any other company, will never call to ask you to transfer your money out of your account for security reasons
- Be wary of all cold calls claiming to be from banks, police, or other trusted organisations – if you have any concerns, call back on an independently verified number.
- Be credit wise - By checking your credit report to see if there are rogue applications, you can get a better handle on whether your information has fallen into the wrong hands
- Check - Receiving unexpected, irrelevant mail, could be a warning side of ID fraud
Households struggling to get by on minimal incomes who prefer to deal in cash are also becoming a particular target of fraudsters.
Frauds against this group jumped by 2.4 per cent compared to last year and increased by a whopping 4.2 per cent since 2015.
Fraud victims are also likely to live in London, with 28 per cent of frauds in the UK targeted against residents living in the capital, according to Experian.
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The research comes as identity has continued to rise at record levels in the first six months of 2017.
A record 89,000 identity frauds were recorded, up 5 per cent from last year, according to Cifas, the UK's leading fraud prevention service.
Which? previously revealed the top places in the UK where scammers hit and how they steal your cash.
According to the consumer group's research, more than one in 10 people in the UK had mistakenly made a bank transfer, or knew someone who had, to a fraudster.
Meanwhile, a separate research by the group found that Barclays has the worst record for handling fraud-related complaints.
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