Roughly nine in ten adults in the UK – 87 per cent – have come across online content they suspected to be a fraud, according to new research from Ofcom.

The regulator revealed that nearly 43 million British internet users have encountered some kind of online scam.

46 per cent of those that participated in the authority’s study said that they had been “personally drawn in” by a scammer, while almost two-fifths knew someone who had fallen victim.

Of those that lost money through a scam, one in five were left more than £1,000 out of pocket.

The research also found that men, younger adults aged 18-34, and people with children in the household are more likely that the average person to say they have encountered online content that they suspected to be a scam or fraudulent.

Just under a quarter of those who had experienced a scam said they had come across it on social media, the second most common channel after email, which was highlighted by 30 per cent of respondents.

Impersonation fraud was revealed to be the most common type of fraud experienced, with over 50 per cent of UK adults identifying this as a method they had come across. This was closely followed by counterfeit goods scams, chosen by 42 per cent of those that took the survey.

“Falling victim to online fraud can have a devastating impact on people’s financial and mental well-being,” said Richard Wronka, Ofcom director, online safety policy. “The Online Safety Bill will place new obligations on online services to protect their users against online fraud and scams."

Wronka added that its report would provide "crucial evidence" to help inform its approach to rolling out the new law.

But consumer champion Which? criticised the length of time it is taking to roll out the legislation.

“This latest research exposes the frightening scale of online fraud and backs up recent Which? research that found a slew of misleading and potentially fraudulent investment adverts are still targeting Facebook and Instagram users," said Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, commenting on the Ofcom study. "The Online Safety Bill has been going through parliament for a year and progress has been much too slow, with people still being scammed every day."

He called on the government to ensure the Bill includes the "strongest possible protections for consumers" and is passed into law without further delays.

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