Online fraud and deception have been confronting more people, with a new survey indicating that one out of three people who go online have faced financial fraud in just the past year, and one financial consultant says there are plenty of reasons why.
The Bankrate Financial Fraud Survey released this week narrows those statistics down a little more: if you look closely at those one-in-three who were scammed, well more than a-third of those people actually lost money.
Statistics don't convey the problems people can face, but Bankrate economic analyst Sarah Foster indicates that losing money online can range from annoying to heartbreaking, depending on the circumstance.
"A wide majority of Americans, 89% say they've taken at least one step over the past 12 months to protect themselves from financial fraud, and yet about 3 in 4 of those people who've taken steps say they've still experienced it anyway," Ms. Foster says.
"It really raises this question of, am I really ever safe from financial fraud or a scam, and it can happen to even the best of us."
And even the youngest of us.
Those ripped off by online fraud are not confined to older Baby boomers and Generation Xers (ages 45-60), both of which are likely to have been hit by a financial scam or fraud at 73 percent and 71 percent respectively.
And surprisingly, Gen Zers (ages 18-28) and millennials have seen rip-offs at 63 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
But Foster says the fraud has become common enough that there's no reason to become complacent.
"All it takes is just one fraud in just one day -- and it can happen very quickly."
"I also would say that this isn't a reason to just throw in the towel and give up on protecting yourself at all, it's just really one of those reasons that underscores why you have to remain vigilant at all times
And there are also lots of reasons the scammers could be singling you out over some other people. There is an increasing amount of information online about an increasing number of people.
"You never really know what's out there about you. And even though I have unknown people texting me, maybe posing as recruiters," Foster points out.
"There are others saying they're trying to get ahold of me and to click on suspicious links because I have an unpaid toll.
"These are good reasons to change your passwords regularly, set up fraud alerts and just generally check your accounts, be hypervigilant