Report says online scams hit people with fewer resources hardest

A new UtilForge.org report says people with disabilities, older adults and households with little savings bear the heaviest losses from online scams across 31 countries. The report also points to policy changes in the U.K. and Taiwan that have cut scam losses and says more public disclosure from platforms could help close the gap.

Why it matters: - Online scams do not affect people equally, and the report says the biggest burden falls on people with the least financial cushion, including older adults and people with disabilities. - The findings matter because scam losses can trigger broader harm through banks, police and health services, not just direct financial loss. - The report argues that better disclosure and stronger platform rules could reduce losses and improve recovery rates.

What happened: - UtilForge.org published The Digital Trust Deficit: who carries the cost of online scams? during Cybersecurity Awareness Month. - The report examines who online threats reach, who is protected and who recovers across 31 countries. - Lindsay McDonald, a spokesperson for UtilForge.org, said the report is meant to help people access published evidence and make informed choices. - The report also includes first steps for people who have just been scammed and where to report in each country.

The details: - In the U.S., 39.2% of bank-fraud victims who could not cover a US$400 emergency did not get all their money back, compared with 20.0% of victims with three months of savings, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. - In a Gallup survey for the Stop Scams Alliance, 58% of scammed households earning less than US$80,000 reported moderate or severe hardship, about twice the rate in higher-earning households. - People age 60 and older made one in five complaints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2025 and reported 37% of the money lost, or US$7.7 billion. - In low- and middle-income countries, about 200 million more women than men do not use mobile internet. - Women also name safety and security as their top barrier to using mobile internet, according to the GSM Association. - In Australia, 18.1% of people with disabilities experienced personal fraud in a year, compared with 12.9% of people without disability. - In New Zealand, 18% of adults with disabilities experienced fraud in 2025, versus 9% of all adults. - In the U.S., reported losses to internet crime reached US$20.9 billion in 2025, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. - In England and Wales, the Home Office estimates the annual cost of fraud to individuals at £9.2 billion. - The report says most fraud agencies do not publish losses by disability, sex, income or language. - Of seven large technology companies reviewed, none publishes scam losses on its services, refunds paid to victims or revenue from ads later removed as scams. - The report cites institutions in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil and the European Union in their own published words and figures.

Between the lines: - The report frames online scam harm as an inequality issue, not just a cybersecurity problem. - Groups with fewer savings, less digital access or lower visibility in official data appear to face both higher exposure and lower recovery. - The lack of standardized reporting makes it harder to compare losses across countries, platforms and demographic groups. - The report’s focus on published figures suggests current public data likely understates the full scale of the problem.

What's next: - The report proposes 12 changes and assigns each one to a responsible institution. - Proposed actions include audited yearly disclosure by technology platforms of scam losses, refunds and ad revenue. - The report also calls for reporting routes in plain language and other languages, plus fraud figures published by age, disability and language. - UtilForge.org is offering free checks that run on a user’s own device, including Advert Check for search engine and social media adverts and Is This the Official Government Site? - The report is available to read and download here.

The bottom line: - The report says the people most harmed by online scams are often the least protected, the least counted and the least likely to be fully reimbursed.