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Research by GCA and Amazon Confirms Susceptibility of Young Adults with Scams Online
- Survey respondents and focus group participants from over 25 countries provide valuable insights, feedback, and reactions on their cybersecurity experience, awareness, and knowledge of 18 to 25 year olds online, informing the launch of an online safety page.
New York, November 16, 2023. The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) and Amazon concluded research that engaged directly with 18-25 year olds globally, to create and launch targeted informational resources and solutions to protect this age group from online scams.
Young Adults at Risk Online
From August-September 2023, GCA and Amazon launched a global survey, also translated in Japanese, that was shared by over 20 supporting organizations. In tandem, open source data was gathered and two focus groups (US/Canada and global) were held to gain insights on user habits, attitudes towards risk, and awareness, knowledge, and personal experience of young adults with online scams.
The global survey solicited responses from 26 countries that include the United States, Japan, North Macedonia, Germany, Ghana, and Nigeria, while focus groups participants similarly included representation from North America, Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region.
Insights from the data highlight and validate key themes among the age group around online scams such as overconfidence, lack of reporting, high susceptibility to impersonation scams, and concerns over privacy. In particular:
- 47% reported to be ‘very confident’ in their ability to identify online scams and fraud.
- 51% did not report online scams or fraud they experienced.
- 66% personally experienced impersonation scams.
Resources and Solutions
As a result of these findings, both organizations created an online safety page launched today to provide concise and actionable information to allow 18-25 year olds “Protect, Identify, and Report & Recover” from impersonation and other scams targeting them during the immediate holiday shopping season and beyond.
The research will culminate with the release of a robust, mobile-forward, interactive online solution at the end of Q1 2024, which will provide customized tools and solutions to reduce young people’s risk of financial and personal data loss to scams and simultaneously improve their knowledge and strengthen their resilience to cyber threats.
“Young adults are increasingly susceptible to scams. The launch of our Online Safety Page is just the start of our work with the Global Cyber Alliance to meet young adults where they are and develop new interactive resources that educate consumers about scams,” stated Abigail Bishop, Head of External Relations for Scam Prevention at Amazon.
“Recent survey data indicates that young adults are increasingly targeted by and susceptible to online scams. To help them avoid the financial loss and data breaches scams can cause, Global Cyber Alliance and Amazon have teamed up to provide an Online Safety Page with tools and resources for young adults to ‘Protect, Identify, Report, and Recover’ from impersonation and other online scams. This Online Safety Page gives young adults information and tools they can use now to protect themselves while shopping and engaging online. GCA and Amazon’s collaboration, which is open to other like-minded organizations, will culminate with the release of a robust, mobile-forward, interactive solution in 2024,” said Brian Cute, GCA’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of Capacity & Resilience.
Moving Forward
In the coming weeks, GCA will begin releasing key findings of this work, testimonials, and other valuable insights that alter common perceptions of the experience of the 18-25 age group online.
Both organizations agree that effectively combating scams requires a collaboration with many stakeholders. This is why GCA and Amazon continue to welcome broader participation with other like-minded organizations, including those who may contribute with their experience, resources, and/or expertise to promote, distribute, and/or sponsorship of an end solution in Q1 2024.
Please contact us to learn more about how to get involved.
