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Under 25s now more than TWICE as likely to be snared by online ‘phishing’ scams than Baby Boomers

Youngsters under 25 typically lose a huge £613.22 to fraudsters, compared to the older generation, whose losses average £214.70

Over 55’s are more likely to be targeted by online fraudsters - with almost half suffering cybercrime attempts compared to a third of under 25s

Over one in 10 18-24 year olds have actually fallen victim to ‘phishing’, compared to just one in 20 55+ year olds

But the real number maybe far higher, as just 27 per cent of victims report the crime

Get Safe Online has recruited unique new ‘Scammer Nana’ squad to demonstrate to youngsters how simple it is to be defrauded even by someone their grandparents’ age.

TECH savvy teens who live their lives online are now more than TWICE as likely to fall victim to internet conmen than over 55’s, a surprising new study shows.

More than one in ten of the youngsters polled (11 per cent), who are aged 18 to 24, have fallen victim to ‘phishing’ scams – where fraudsters access personal details though online communication – compared to just one in 20 (5 per cent) of over 55s, according to the report from Get Safe Online, the UK’s leading source of information on online safety.

Despite claiming to be very digitally aware, millennials and Gen Z cybercrime victims also lose far more money in the attacks, averaging £613.22 compared to £214.70 for the older generation.

In a survey commissioned by Get Safe Online, most people (38 per cent) believed that hackers were likely to be young. The same number believed they were targeted by a large international hacking organisation and almost a quarter (23 per cent) thought that advanced technical skills are needed to carry out a phishing attack.

This could be why over one in ten (11 per cent) millennials don’t believe that the older generation has the skills to phish, and almost the same number (9 per cent) believe it’s ‘only old people’ who fall for phishing scams.

To prove that anyone can get phished – and equally that anyone could be behind phishing – Get Safe Online trained a group of nans, dubbed the ‘Scammer Nanas’, to phish their grandkids and dispel the convictions of a quarter of young people (27 per cent) who believe they are too smart to fall for scams.

Five nanas were recruited from across the UK to learn how to perpetrate a phishing email. Their schooling included faking their email address, creating false links, inventing a fake ‘company’ and writing a convincing fake email. They then put their knowledge to the test and phished their grandkids with emails with fraudulent links – proving that young people aren’t as savvy as they think.

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 revealed just 40 per cent of under 25s say they ‘carefully read and re-read all emails’, in contrast with two thirds (69 per cent) of 55+ year olds who scrupulously check all online communication.

Worryingly, only half of under 25s (51 per cent) don’t ‘reply to or click on links in unsolicited or spam emails’ – which is a common technique used by phishers. However, older Brits are more cautious, with three quarters saying that they never reply to or click on links in suspect emails.

And three times as many 18-24 year-olds than over 55s have stopped using social media or emails as a result of phishing.

Younger people are also more likely to experience longer-term damage from phishing attacks. While only three per cent of casualties over 55 reported losing ‘a large amount of money which affected my lifestyle and finances’, almost a quarter (24 per cent) 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 per cent saying the crime attempt impacted them compared to just three per cent of over 55s.

But despite the increase in young cybercrime victims, older Brits (47 per cent) are still more likely to be targeted by online criminals compared to their younger counterparts (36 per cent).

Overall, half (50 per cent) of all Brits have been targeted, with eight per cent of the UK population falling victim to the cybercriminals.(1)

The research also looked at the frequency of phishing, revealing that almost two thirds (64 per cent) of people have received a phishing email within the last year, and one in five (19 per cent) within the last month, as cyber gangs step up activity. Worryingly, one in ten (10 per cent) has been targeted upwards of ten times.

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 per cent) received this type of email, followed by 33 per cent who were sent an email from a company asking them to update logins or provide account details.

Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, said: “There’s a common misconception that as ‘digital natives’ younger people are savvier and safer online. However, as our report shows, this isn’t the case. When it comes to staying safe from cyberscammers, older may actually mean wiser.

“So to help youngsters gets safe online, we trained a team of Scammer Nanas to show just how easy it is to phish for information and carry out such a cruel and life-impacting crime. We hope our nana scam gang will make young Brits think twice before handing over their information.”

Sue Parker-Nutley, one of the Scammer Nanas added: “The internet is a wonderful thing – it’s helped me to stay in touch with friends and family. However, it’s astounding how easy it can be for online fraudsters to succeed in their efforts – if I can do it, then anyone can.

“However, there are some really simple things that you can do to protect yourself – like turning on your spam filter or never clicking on links or attachments if you’re suspicious. It’s not difficult and it could save you a heap of trouble down the line.”

When asked how they dealt with the unwanted emails, over a quarter (27 per cent) reported it to an industry body and the same number to their email provider. However, one in ten (10 per cent) ignored it, one in 16 (6 per cent) panicked and one in 33 (3 per cent) even bought a new laptop in response to being targeted.

To find out more, please head to www.getsafeonline.org/scammernanas or search #ScammerNana on social media.

Take a stand against bullying - prepare for Wear Blue for Bullying Day 10th November 2017

We all know someone who has experienced bullying in some aspect of their life. We recognise that the impact of bullying can be a very difficult process to overcome.

The Wear Blue day is in recognition of all those who have suffered from bullying or are experiencing this to come together and stand up to bullying.

Bullying UK, part of Family Lives, works all year round on anti-bullying campaigns, and provides support to those who are experiencing bullying via their helpline on 0808 800 2222 and their online advice. They understand the impact of bullying and the effects. The online advice is non-judgmental and covers all aspects of bullying with tips, advice and further support. They are always looking for people to get involved in their work through campaigns and raising awareness.

Wear blue and show your support for anti-bullying on 10 November 2017. Bullying UK will be running their successful Wear Blue Day for the third year and are asking school, workplaces and individuals to wear blue and donate to Bullying UK.

Help make this Wear Blue Day the biggest yet!

Schools can buy wristbands which are a great way to engage with the issues around bullying and raise awareness. They are also looking for passionate Bullying UK champions to fundraise. You will feel a real sense of achievement for helping to improve the lives of people affected by bullying.

For more information, email bullyinguk@familylives.org.uk, connect on Facebook and Twitter or register you interest here.

Britain is to become the safest place in the world to be online thanks to new proposals announced by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley.

Cracking down on dangers like cyber-bullying, trolling and under-age access to porn, the Government’s Internet Safety Strategy proposes:

A new social media code of practice to see a joined-up approach to remove or address bullying, intimidating or humiliating online content;

An industry-wide levy so social media companies and communication service providers contribute to raise awareness and counter internet harms;​

An annual internet safety transparency report to show progress on addressing abusive and harmful content and conduct;

And support for tech and digital startups to think safety first - ensuring that necessary safety features are built into apps and products from the very start.

In the past year, almost one fifth of 12-15 year olds encountered something online that they ‘found worrying or nasty in some way’ and 64% of 13-17 year olds have seen images or videos offensive to a particular group. Nearly half of adult users also say they have seen something that has upset or offended them on social media.

The Internet Safety Green Paper aims to tackle these growing dangers, while continuing to embrace the huge benefits and opportunities the Internet has brought for British citizens.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley said:

The Internet has been an amazing force for good, but it has caused undeniable suffering and can be an especially harmful place for children and vulnerable people.
Behaviour that is unacceptable in real life is unacceptable on a computer screen. We need an approach to the Internet that protects everyone without restricting growth and innovation in the digital economy.
Our ideas are ambitious - and rightly so. Collaboratively, government, industry, parents and communities can keep citizens safe online, but only by working together.

The strategy sets out the government’s ambition to create a strong framework which can tackle online harms. All options will be carefully considered, working collaboratively with industry and charities and supporting children, parents and carers.

Today’s is the first generation of children who are learning about relationships and sex in an online world. So the Strategy also outlines the crucial role that education will play in raising online safety awareness, with a particular focus on children and parents:

New compulsory school subjects – Relationship Education at primary and Relationship & Sex Education at secondary to provide online safety education;

Social media safety advice – Government will encourage social media companies to offer safety advice and tools to parents and safety messages will be built into online platforms;

Safety features highlighted – Government will work to raise awareness around the safety products and features that are available for parents.

It is proposed that the UK Council for Child Internet Safety becomes the UK Council for Internet Safety to consider the safety of all users, not just children, and help deliver the measures within the Strategy.

Vicki Shotbolt, Chief Executive Officer at Parent Zone said:

Meeting the challenges of the digital age is something parents do every day. It is encouraging to see the government proposing concrete steps to ensure that industry is doing everything they can to support families and make the Internet a place that contributes to children flourishing.

David Wright, Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre said:

As the national centre dedicated to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online, the UK Safer Internet Centre, a partnership of three charities - Childnet, the Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning – welcomes the Government’s Internet Safety Strategy, which reflects our own work and priorities.
Technology plays a fundamental role in everyone’s lives presenting both opportunities and threats. Our aim, like this strategy, is to promote national collaboration around these issues to deliver positive change among children and young people across the UK - and those who support them - through education and increased awareness of the safe and responsible use of technology.

As part of our work to make Britain the safest place in the world to be online, today’s announcement complements the action already taken by government to stop the spread of poisonous material and propaganda on the internet that could lead people down the path towards terrorism.

Recently the UK and France joined forces to tackle online radicalisation with plans that could lead to much stronger action against tech companies who fail to remove unacceptable content.

About the Green Paper

The Government has already consulted a wide range of stakeholders including charities, academic researchers and technology companies while developing the objectives and initiatives in the Green Paper.

This is just the first part of work to develop a Digital Charter, which will provide a framework for how businesses and individuals should act online so everyone can benefit from new technologies.

Alongside the Strategy, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a literature review undertaken by Professor Sonia Livingstone, Professor Julia Davidson, and Dr Joanna Bryce, on behalf of the UK’s Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) Evidence Group.

While DCMS will take a leading role in delivering the Strategy, it will work with a wide range of partners across Government, including the Home Office, the Department for Education, the Department for Health and the Ministry of Justice.

A number of key findings on internet safety are compiled in the Green Paper:
Reporting to social media companies is low amongst those who recognise they have been cyberbullied. Children, particularly those who had no direct experience of reporting issues, had little confidence in social media companies to resolve cyberbullying (Cyberbullying: Research into the industry guidelines and attitudes of 12-15 year olds. Family Kids & Youth. (2017)).

The amount of children exposed to hate content online seems to be rising. 64% of children and young people aged 13-17 have seen people posting images or videos that are offensive to a particular targeted group (Power of image: A report into the influence of images and videos in young people’s digital lives, UK Safer Internet Centre (2017)).

More than four in ten adults users say they have seen something that has upset or offended them on social media in the past 12 months (Adults’ media use and attitudes, - Ofcom report (2017)).

Ofcom estimates that the average weekly time spent online for all adults in 2016 was 22.9 hours, 1.3 hours more than 2013. 5-15 year olds spend 15 hours a week online; exposing themselves to risks. Even 3-4 year olds who go online are spending 8 hours per week doing so (Children and parents: media use and attitudes, Ofcom (2016))

In the past year, almost one fifth of 12-15 year olds encountered something online that they ‘found worrying or nasty in some way’ (Children and parents: media use and attitudes, Ofcom (2016)).

Half of UK adult internet users say they have concerns about what is on the Internet. These concerns relate mainly to offensive/ illegal content (38%), risks to others/ society (22%) and concerns about security/ fraud (20%). Other concerns include personal privacy (9%) and advertising (7%) (Adults’ media use and attitudes, Ofcom (2017)).

The consultation will close at 12 noon on Thursday 7 December 2017. The Government expects to provide a response to the consultation in early 2018.