A new report has warned that younger consumers are the group most at risk of falling victim to identity fraud.

According to digital identity specialists GBG in its new State of Digital Identities 2022 report, 92% of people said that they were concerned they’ll eventually be hit by identity fraud, while 19% said they were extremely concerned.

The report was based on information gained by surveying over 2,300 people aged 18 and over based in the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

It noted that 9% of respondents said that they had been the victim of identity theft in the past year and a further 18% couldn’t be sure if they had been scammed or not.

In addition, 13% people aged 18 to 24 across Europe have been victims of fraud in the past 12 months, with the figure for the UK rising to 18%.

The figures decrease with age – 12% of 25-to-34-year-olds said they were affected, while 9% of 35-to-44-year-olds were hit. Just 4% of consumers aged 55 and over were affected.

For people who had fallen victim to identity fraud, 40% said that they had had their bank accounts accessed and money taken, while 30% said that their credit card or bank account had been stolen and used.

For young people, 48% who had suffered a breach of their bank account in the past year had money transferred out.

“Young adults are often labelled by businesses as the most tech-savvy demographic. But there is a large section of this age group who believe dealing with online security should be companies’ responsibility, rather than them looking after it themselves,” the report noted.

It added that only 62% of young adults believe it’s their responsibility to protect their own information, compared with an average of 76% across all age groups.

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“The threat for young adults looks set to continue, unless businesses up their game and also educate people on the need to protect their own information too,” the report continued.

“With young people spending so much of their time online, there are naturally more potential touchpoints for fraudsters to target. Meanwhile, older generations tend to be naturally less trusting of digital, so some fraudsters may see young adults as an easier target.”

With the pandemic driving people online, the research found that more people are using web-based services. It noted that 42% of the respondents had signed up for online banking sites and/or shopping sites in the past year.

However, with this online pivot, GBG warned, the risk of negative online experiences, such as identity fraud, increase. Office for National Statistics figures found a 47% increase in fraud and computer misuse from the year until September 2021.

This also increases the risk of people sharing their negative experiences online, which can have a damaging effect on businesses and brands.

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