Online scammers duping 20% of the U.S. adults they encounter
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One in five American adults who have encountered online scams have ended up falling for one of them and losing money, according to a new Consumer Reports report.
Why it matters: Scams are now a normal part of nearly everyone's online experience — and new AI tools are already making them easier to believe and fall for.
By the numbers: Overall, 46% of American adults said they've encountered a scam or cyberattack, according to the report from Consumer Reports, Aspen Digital and the Global Cyber Alliance released Tuesday.
- Black and Hispanic Americans were more likely to lose money: one-third of Black respondents and 30% of Hispanics said they lost money to a scam, compared with 13% of white Americans.
- Consumer Reports fielded part of the report in a survey conducted in April among 2,042 U.S. adults.
Zoom in: About half of the scam attempts Americans experienced started via email (30%) or on social media (23%).
- One in five started through a text message or messaging apps like WhatsApp or iMessage.
- 22% of those who experienced a scam said their social media account was hacked, and 11% said a scammer hacked their email.
- 27% said a scammer impersonated their bank or credit card company; another 27% said the scammers pretended to be tech support.
The big picture: People are being bombarded by scammers looking to make a quick buck, especially on social media.
- 67% of people said they've received a friend request on social media from someone they don't know, and nearly half said they've received potentially scammy messages on social media.
The other side: A separate Consumer Reports survey conducted in May found that 80% of U.S. adults use some sort of multifactor authentication, up from 76% in last year's survey.
- 83% have used text-based login codes, although many security experts warn those can be easily intercepted.
- 54% use a separate app to get the code, like Google Authenticator.
- 25% have confirmed their identity using their voice over a phone call.
Between the lines: New AI tools can make it easier for even more Americans to be scammed.
- Hackers are using chatbots to perfect the language in their phishing emails so they're harder to detect.
- New AI tools can help scammers create a complete clone of someone's voice or likeliness.
Threat level: Consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase from the year before, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
- Someone needs to be distracted for only a brief moment to be tricked into falling for a phishing email, especially one that looks real or seems to come from a legitimate email address.
The bottom line: Consumer Reports recommended that people switch to app-based multifactor authentication tools or use a physical security key — which will add another layer of protection to their accounts.
- The organization also called on social media companies and email vendors to dedicate more staff to help people regain access to their accounts after they've been hacked.
