Most teens don’t report online fraud

Teens aged 15 to 17 are more likely than average to be conned online. In the past year, 1 in 13 were victims of cybercrime. ABN AMRO research also shows that this age group seldom reports online fraud – like purchase scams – to the police or to the bank itself. This suggests that teens take fraud for granted and simply accept the financial loss. Meanwhile, these young people know less about the various forms that fraud can take, and they take fewer precautions to prevent being scammed.

The main findings in a nutshell:

• Only three in ten teenagers who have been conned online report this to an authority. By contrast, almost half (46 per cent) of victims aged 35 to 45 do so.

• A quarter (23 per cent) of 15- to 17-year-olds say they know the risks of online fraud and have taken all possible precautions. Among adults, this is 43 per cent.

• 26 per cent of 15- to17-year-olds don’t know the risks on online fraud and aren’t worried about it. Among adults, this group is much smaller (11 per cent).

• Half of 15- to 17-year-olds never discuss safe banking or fraud with other people.

The less you know, the less you worry

ABN AMRO surveyed 300 young people aged 15 to 17. The focus was on their knowledge about and attitudes towards online fraud, as compared to those of adult clients. The survey shows that, compared to adults, teens are much less alert to danger in cyberspace. They often say that they don’t know the risks of online fraud and aren’t worried about it. They also give their knowledge about this topic a lower rating and take fewer precautions than adults. Only three in ten 15- to 17-year-olds report online fraud if they fall victim to it. It can therefore be concluded that many take fraud for granted.

Fewest reports, but most victims

One in thirteen 15- to 17-year-olds are victims of cybercrime, such as purchase scams, according to analysis by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) as well as research by ABN AMRO. But although teenagers are more likely than average to fall for the tricks of online scammers, they take exceptionally little action once the damage is done. Internal data from ABN AMRO’s own fraud department show the number of fraud reports from this age group to be negligible, way below the average number of reports in other age groups. This is further underpinned by the CBS analysis, which reveals that among all relevant authorities, teenagers are structurally the most underrepresented group reporting fraud.

40,000 empty boxes a year

“We receive remarkably few reports of fraud from teenagers, so I’m not surprised by these results – but I am concerned,” says Marco Hendriks, fraud expert at ABN AMRO. “Among the generation now on the threshold of financial adulthood, the consensus seems to be that fraud is a fact of life. Fraud is indeed a stubborn problem, but being conned is never something to regard as normal. So we’re calling on people to always file a report when this happens. Without reports, fraudsters can just go on doing what they like. The fact that nearly 40,000 young people have, metaphorically speaking, received an empty box this year is no second-tier issue as far as we’re concerned. It deserves to be addressed.”

Higher risk, fewer precautions

Young people give their knowledge about online fraud a lower rating than adults. When it comes to cybersecurity, they rate their behaviour as broadly adequate (7.0). Adults give themselves a higher score (7.3). Many teenagers know little about the various forms that fraud can take, or the kind of things a bank would never ask them to do, like posting their debit card to their bank. They seem to make little effort to share or acquire knowledge, given that half of the young respondents say they never talk about secure banking. If they do at all, it’s often with their parents and less often with friends.