New research has found that nearly 80 per cent of eight- to 17-year-olds have come across an online scam at least once a month, with as many as 46 per cent falling victim to a scam at some point.

According to the study from the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), 45 per cent of people in this age bracket have encountered a scam at least once a week.

Of those who fell for a scam, nine per cent have lost money more than once.

UKSIC, a partner organisation working to support people facing online harms, said that the report highlights the need for more support to tackle online crime and help young people stay safe on the internet.

The research found that young people are most commonly becoming victims of fake giveaways, phishing scams and fake websites. Scams targeting young people also include fake ticket sales and sales in online games.

Young people are seeing scams online in a range of places, with the report revealing that 35 per cent of scams are found on social media platforms. Emails account for 17 per cent of scams, while children aged 8 –11 years-old are 22 per cent more likely to encounter a scam in an online game.

Reassuringly the research found that young people are already using strategies to detect scams, including identifying warning signs, such as being put under pressure to act or do something quickly. Some 87 per cent of young people would block the person or profile posting or sharing a potential scam, while 79 per cent would check with a parent or carer.

“For too long, young people have been overlooked, yet our research clearly demonstrates how much of an impact online scams can have on them,” said Will Gardner, UKSIC director. “Young people play an important role in both protecting themselves and others, including their parents and carers, from online scams and at the same time, they rely on their parents and carers for support when navigating the risk of scams.”

Responding to the news Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said that the UK is in the grip of a “fraud epidemic.”

She called on Ofcom to implement the Online Safety Act in full as soon as possible to help prevent millions more children and adults losing money to scam ads.

"Considering online fraud is one of the most commonly committed crimes in the UK today, it is simply not good enough that protections against fraudulent advertisements are not likely to come into effect until 2027,” continued Concha.

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