Scams - Everyone is targeted

New research from the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) has shown that younger, more affluent consumers are just as likely as older consumers to be targeted by scammers.

Early results from a major research project commissioned by the OFT show that nearly half of the UK population - or 20 million consumers over the age of 15 - have been targeted by a scam. The proportion targeted is highest in the middle age ranges, with 54% of those in the range 35 to 44 years and 58% of those in the range 45 to 54 having been targeted by a mass-marketed scam in the last two to three years.

Working people were more likely to have been targeted than those who were not working. Nearly one in ten of those targeted in these age groups had actually fallen victim to the scammer, and parted with money.

The results run counter to expectations that the main focus for scammers would be the most obviously vulnerable consumer groups - older people, or those isolated from social networks such as the work place. The proportion of older people (defined as those aged 65 and over) targeted was 41%.

The OFT has just published a guide to identifying different scams, the most common marketing methods that scammers use, and the steps consumers can take to protect themselves from either being targeted or falling victim to an approach. This is the latest initiative in the OFT's month-long campaign to raise public awareness of scams.

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