Quantitative survey findings

Summary The nationally representative survey results show that young people are more likely to say that online fraud would never happen to them than the national average And, in line with this, half of year olds say that they would never fall for an online scam This age group is also less likely than the population as a whole to say they think about how secure their personal details are online And they are less likely to install anti-virus software on their mobile phone Just under a quarter of the public think that young people are particularly at risk A third of year olds say they learnt about online security when they were at school And this is lowered to just 8% of the public as a whole

Young people are more likely to say that online fraud would never happen to them than the national average Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I don’t think that online fraud would happen to me. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 22% Of year olds agree 14% Of men agree (versus 9% of women) 11% 54% I don’t think that online fraud would happen to me 15% Of ABs agree (versus 12% C1, 8% C2 and 9% DE respondents) As we heard in the focus groups, there are a variety of reasons why young people feel they are not at risk of fraud: They have a lack of wealth compared to older age groups, so feel they are unlikely to be targeted by criminals The feel they would be savvy enough to spot a scam

In line with this, half of year olds say they would never fall for an online scam Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I would never fall for an online scam. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 50% Of year olds say they would never fall for an online scam I would never fall for an online scam Young people feel confident using the internet and, as we heard in the groups, often the only examples of online fraud that they have heard of seem to be obvious

Young people are less likely than the population as a whole to say they think about how secure their personal details are online Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I never think about how secure my personal details are online. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 57% Of year olds say they think about how secure their personal details are online I never think about how secure my personal details are online 10%73% As we heard in the focus groups, internet security rarely tends to be a consideration for young people And when they do think about this, it tends to be about the dangers of not knowing who you are speaking to on social media and forums

Over half the population say they are confident that they know how to keep their personal details safe online Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I feel confident that I know how to keep my personal details safe online. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 61% Of men agree (versus 54% of women) 58% Of year olds agree I feel confident that I know how to keep my personal details safe online 57%12% 62% Of ABs agree (versus 55% of C1, 56% C2 and 56% DE respondents) As we heard in the focus groups, people feel that they know how to protect themselves online, but that doesn’t mean that they are actually doing so For example, many of the young people we spoke to were aware of the need to use complicated passwords, but chose not to because they found them too hard to remember

Just under a quarter of the public think that young people are particularly at risk Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Criminals committing identity fraud often target young people. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 24% Of year olds feel that criminals committing identity fraud often target young people Criminals committing identity fraud often target young people 23% 28% This is in line with what we heard in the focus groups, whereby participants assumed that wealthier or older people would be more likely to be targeted These groups were seen as having more to lose than young people, and there was an assumption that older people in particular would have less experience in using the internet, and perhaps less likely to know how to protect themselves

Over half of the public say they worry about using public wi-fi for online banking and shopping Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I worry about using public wi-fi for online shopping and banking. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 61% Of women agree (versus 53% of men) 55% Of year olds agree I worry about using public wi-fi for online shopping and banking 57% 18% Despite this, it is worth remembering the lack of awareness about this danger amongst focus group participants As well as the assumption that using public wi-fi belonging well-known brands will be safe

Young people are less likely to install anti-virus software on their mobile phones than the average for the public as a whole Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I always install anti-virus software on my mobile phone. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 27% Of year olds say they always install anti-virus software on their mobile phones I always install anti-virus software on my mobile phone 37% As we saw in the focus groups with younger people, awareness of the availability of anti- virus software for smartphones is very low, with most assuming that they are protected already This assumption was particularly strong for Apple devices and phones

A third of year olds say they learnt about online security when they were at school Q: How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I learnt about online security when I was at school. Base: All respondents (n=2000) 34% Of year say they learnt about online security when they were at school I learnt about online security when I was at school 8%83% However, as we heard in the qualitative research, this education is likely to have covered the dangers of not knowing who you are talking to online and cyber bullying, and not issues relating to fraud