82% Indians are falling victims to these fake messages: McAfee reveals scam list
scam messages and the growing sophistication of scams powered by artificial intelligence (AI) on consumers worldwide. Over 7,000 adults from seven countries, including India, took part in the study.
According to the study, Indians receive an average of 12 fake messages or scams per day, and they spend approximately 1.8 hours per week identifying these fraudulent messages.
Shockingly, a staggering 82% of Indians have fallen victim to these fake messages. The most common types of scams reported are fake job notifications/offers (64%) and bank alert messages (52%).
The survey conducted in India further revealed that 60% of respondents find it increasingly challenging to identify scam messages as hackers are utilizing AI to make them more believable.
Additionally, 49% of individuals mentioned that these scam messages are now error-free, highly convincing, and even contain personal information, making them harder to recognize.
Here are some examples of the types of scam messages that people have fallen for:
— «You've won a prize!» – 72%
— Fake job notifications or offers – 64%
— Bank alert messages – 52%
— Information about a purchase the recipient didn't make – 37%
— Netflix (or similar) subscription updates – 35%
— Fake missed delivery or delivery problem notifications – 29%
— Amazon security alerts or account update notifications – 27%
The study also highlighted that Indians spend an average of 105 minutes per week verifying the authenticity of messages. Furthermore, 90% of individuals receive fake messages via email and text on a daily basis, while 84% encounter them on social media.
