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While anecdotal evidence has suggested seniors may be more susceptible to scams, Leach says surveys done at recent Internet safety workshops put on by AARP and Microsoft showed just the opposite."Before they realize it's a counterfeit check, they will have removed $2,000 to $3,000 from their account," he says. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in the ways they get information. One recent scam involved phony Web sites targeted at interest groups such as pet owners. Site users are asked to register with their name, address and a password.
The trend is increasing.
Figures from the National Consumers League, a watchdog group, show that money lost to Internet scams more than doubled from 2004 to 2005, from $5.8 billion to $13.9 billion.
Frauds involving Internet auctions accounted for 42 percent of consumer complaints received in 2005. And while Nigerian money offers made up only 8 percent of complaints, the average loss per complaint was $6,937, higher than any other type of Internet scam.
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She says the surveys showed "it was the younger people who were far more trusting online and older people who doubted everything they saw."
Figures from the Federal Trade Commission show that the bulk of Internet fraud complaints come from people between the ages of 20 and 50.
"They know that the person on the street generally will use the same password (for all their accounts)," Butler says. "They will take that password and go to the top 10 bank sites."
People fall into such traps, he says, for one reason.
"Mainly it's based on greed," Butler says. "The criminals know that and it blinds people. (Victims) do things that don't make a lot of common sense. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
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