Tired of getting online scams? These are the most vulnerable groups and financial impact of internet crimes
New research has lifted the lid on the extent of online crime in the U.S., where billions of dollars are stolen by cyber tricksters each year.
More than seven in ten American adults say they have been hit by an online scam or attack of some description, a recent survey has revealed.
Most U.S. adults have experienced cyber scam or attack
Pew Research Center, whose team of pollsters interviewed nearly 10,000 people over a week-long period in April, has found that 73% of adults in the U.S. have been the victim of online criminals. Respondents reported being targeted in the following ways:
- Hackers stole bank card details: 48% of U.S. adults
- Product bought online was fake or didn’t arrive: 36%
- Online account was hijacked: 29%
- Personal info revealed after scam email/text/call: 24%
- Paid to unblock computer after ransomware attack: 10%
💳 48% of Americans report that online hackers made fraudulent charges on their credit or debit card.
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) August 1, 2025
🛍️ 36% say they purchased an item online that never arrived or was counterfeit and it was not refunded.
Which age groups do online criminals target?
Although senior citizens are typically considered most likely to be on the receiving end of online crime, Pew Research Center’s survey found a fairly even spread across age groups.
Indeed, over-65s represented the smallest group of poll participants who said they had been the victim of an online scam or attack at least once, while Americans aged 30 to 49 returned the highest percentage:
- Ages 18-29: 73%
- Ages 30-49: 77%
- Ages 50-64: 76%
- Ages 65+: 66%
Americans lost billions to scammers in 2024
While nearly three-quarters of those surveyed by Pew Research Center said they had suffered online criminal activity, a smaller percentage of U.S. adults - 21% - said they had actually ended up losing money in a cyber scam or attack.
Of the one-in-five who reported a dent in their wallet, 11% said their personal finances had been impacted “a great deal”, while a far greater proportion - 43% - said the internet crime had hurt their overall financial state “a little or not at all”.
Yet although many Americans say they got off lightly when duped out of their dollars, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed that, in total, U.S. residents had a whopping $16.6 billion stolen by online criminals in 2024.
According to a report released by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in April, the average reported loss was just under $19,400, while the total amount stolen represented a 33% increase on 2023.
“Mere taps on a keyboard”
“As nearly all aspects of our lives have become digitally connected, the attack surface for cyber actors has grown exponentially,” said B. Chad Yarbrough, the FBI’s operations director for criminal and cyber.
With “mere taps on a keyboard”, Yarbrough added, “scammers are increasingly using the Internet to steal Americans’ hard earned savings.”
“Ashamed” victims not reporting scams
And when people’s money has been stolen by online criminals, only 26% of those targeted have then contacted law enforcement, Pew Research Center says.
In an interview with NBC, the Bankrate financial analyst Ted Rossman said this is, in part, because “people are ashamed or they don’t know how to report it“.
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