Scammers Target Vulnerable Consumers More
The Internet is used by people of various age groups and interests, from shopping to banking to social media, which makes any one a target to scams. In a recent study by Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), it has been found that scammers tend to attack vulnerable people such as older users, indigenous people, and those who have disabilities.
Older Aussies who look to invest their retirement money are found to be very susceptible to investment scams—receiving cold calls at first before being convinced to give a certain amount to scammers. One type of scam that the older generation tend to fall for is the crypto currency-type of ‘investment’. Scammers use technological jargon, convincing sales pitches and even flashy websites to convince their victim that the investment is real. Those in the same demographic were also misled and scammed millions through fake relationships by being scammed via online dating sites and romance scams.
These scams were also found to be prevalent amongst people with a disability or those who have chronic illness, citing millions of dollars in losses through investment and dating scams. Indigenous people also recorded more losses comparatively on investment scams, citing a huge increase of 79 per cent from 2017.
As more people gain access to the internet, we should always be wary of anyone who could be targeting our money. We should ensure that people close to us who are deemed vulnerable are properly protected online as well. Trend Micro Premium Security is the best defence against online scams, such as email scams that lure unsuspecting victims to fall for their fraudulent activities.
