U.K. older adults less likely to experience cybercrime than younger adults — but it's more financially devastating for them
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Adults aged 75 and older are more likely to repeatedly experience cybercrime and related financial loss, according to research published December 18, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Benjamin Havers from University College London, U.K., and colleagues.
Between April 2018 and March 2019, adults 55 and older in England and Wales lost more than €4 million to cybercrime, internet-based fraud including hacking and social engineering (i.e., tricking vulnerable victims into transferring money or sharing sensitive information). Cybercrime is a threat to older adults who spend time online; potential psychological and financial consequences range from anxiety and depression to disrupted emergency funds and dissipated life savings.
The researchers analyzed 35,069 responses to the 2019-2020 Crime Survey for England and Wales, a survey administered via face-to-face interviews to randomly selected English and Welsh adults 16 and older. Participants self-reported whether they experienced cybercrime once or more in the last 12 months and indicated if it led to financial loss. The researchers tracked participants’ sensory, physical, cognitive and mental health as well as sociodemographic variables like age, gender, ethnicity and occupation.
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