{"id":99183,"date":"2025-02-11T04:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T12:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/?p=99183"},"modified":"2025-02-11T18:44:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T02:44:51","slug":"safer-internet-day-2025-scam-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/blog\/safer-internet-day-2025-scam-study\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research Highlights Consumers\u2019 False Sense of Security with Online Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New Research Shows Consumers Have a False Sense of Security with Online Scams \u2013 and a Willingness to Take Action to Stop Them<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve probably been there before: a suspicious text from a number you already have saved in your phone, a sketchy email with a dubious link, a voicemail from a hidden number purporting to offer urgent financial help if you\u2019d just call back soon. And you\u2019ve probably thought to yourself: Of course, that\u2019s a scam. Yet according to new research from Trend Micro, consumers aren\u2019t quite as adept at spotting scams \u2013 or understanding their vulnerability to them \u2013 as they might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

62% believe only the \u2018easily fooled\u2019 fall for romance scams\u2014creating a false sense of security.<\/h4> TREND MICRO SNAP STUDY<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To better understand consumer attitudes and behaviors toward different scams and help consumers fight back against increasingly sophisticated scammers, Trend commissioned a demographically representative survey of over 6,000 adults in countries across the globe including the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Singapore, and Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The results were stark: Even as scams get more nefarious and bad actors have more advanced, AI-powered tools at their fingertips to target consumers, there\u2019s significant work to do to educate consumers about scams and the crucial role they can play in preventing them. Thirty-six percent of consumers, for example, believe that you can only be a victim of online scams if you share \u201ctoo much\u201d online<\/strong>, and 45% say scams can be identified easily by spotting grammar and spelling errors. Sixty-two percent also agree to some extent that those who fall for romance scams are those who are \u201ceasily fooled.\u201d This suggests a false sense of security \u2013 as a large swath of consumers believe that it can\u2019t, or won\u2019t, happen to them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Consumers also demonstrated different experiences with different types of scams. Globally, respondents were much more likely to report having been targeted by investment scams<\/a> (27%) versus romance (14%) or sextortion scams (6%). Interestingly, they are also much more likely to tell friends or family if they were victims<\/em> of an investment scam (80% would) than a romance scam (65%); respondents may feel greater shame in discussing romance scams<\/a>, which can often be deeply personal and leave them feeling more vulnerable than financial scams. And, only a small minority have even discussed with friends or family what to do if targeted by scams<\/strong>, ranging from 13% for romance scams to 21% for investment scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trend Micro ScamCheck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Still, there is hope that consumers are ready \u2013 and willing \u2013 to take action. Overall, 74% believe it is worth reporting if they encounter a scam, and solutions like the new Trend Micro ScamCheck<\/a><\/strong> app give them the ability to do just that. While this survey uncovers vulnerabilities in the consumer mindset toward scams and threats online, it\u2019s clear that education \u2013 and a renewed focus on reporting, collaborating against, and discussing scams \u2013 can help turn the tide and expose the shared risks we all face in our online worlds.<\/p>\n\n

To take control and fight back against scammers, download the Trend Micro ScamCheck<\/strong> app by clicking the button below:<\/p>\n

\nGet ScamCheck<\/a>\nGet ScamCheck<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Research Shows Consumers Have a False Sense of Security with Online Scams \u2013 and a Willingness to Take Action to Stop Them You\u2019ve probably been there before: a suspicious text from a number you already have saved in your phone, a sketchy email with a dubious link, a voicemail from a hidden number purporting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[762,3,4],"tags":[5,828,827,109,826,830,829],"class_list":["post-99183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adults","category-for-parents","category-for-teachers","tag-internet-safety","tag-investment-scams","tag-romance-scams","tag-safer-internet-day","tag-scam-awareness","tag-sextortion-scams","tag-trend-micro-scamcheck","wpautop"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t