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Cyber Security

Cyber Risk – Tech Savvy vs Streetwise: Mellenials At Risk

Everyone is at risk from online cyber threats; even tech savvy teens.

Generation Z-ers and Mellenials 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 from ‘Get Safe Online’ shows.

Worryingly more than one in ten of the youngsters polled (11%), 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%) of over 55s.

Get Safe Online is 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 the survey most people (38%) 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%)) thought that advanced technical skills are needed to carry out a phishing attack.

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

Maybe being tech savvy needs to catch up to being streetwise!