Almost half of Danish adults have probably been exposed to online fraud

The majority of fraud attempts occur via Facebook or Gmail, where 53% and 45% of respondents have been exposed to fraud, respectively.

Shopping fraud remains the most widespread

48% of respondents have experienced online fraud attempts, and 65% of them say that they were exposed to it or encountered it in connection with online shopping. On average, each victim has been exposed to fraud 2.4 times in recent years.

The younger generation is affected more often 

It is a misconception that it is the older generation that is most and most easily scammed. The younger, 'tech-savvy' generations typically feel safer when they are online, but this actually makes them a more valuable target for scammers. The study finds that not only are "Generation Z" scammed more often than the older generation, but unfortunately also at higher costs. The scammers even directly target the younger generations with very specific types of scam attempts on gaming platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite, but also with specific types of scam attempts such as "student loans" or "get your driver's license online".

Overall, the study emphasizes that there is a need for awareness campaigns targeting both young and old people throughout society.

Read the full report here.

Other key findings from the study

• Generational difference: "Generation X" is on average exposed to scams with the highest costs (9,502 DKK) compared to, for example, "Generation Y"/"Millennials" (1,993 DKK).
• Those who believe they “can always spot a scam” were scammed an average of DKK 13,569 in the past 12 months.
• Almost 30% of Danish parents with children aged 7-17 said that at least one of their children had been scammed online at least once in the past 12 months.
• The Danish adults surveyed disagree about who should protect them from online scams. 33% of respondents placed the responsibility on commercial organizations, 31% believed it was their own responsibility, and 29% expected public authorities to provide protection.
• Almost half of Danish adults surveyed (46%) believe that banks should always be responsible for reimbursing victims of scams.