Nearly 1 in 3 Americans report being a victim of online financial fraud or cybercrime

Washington, D.C., December 1, 2023 – A new Ipsos poll, conducted on behalf of Wells Fargo, finds that while many Americans are confident that they have taken enough steps to prevent being the victim of financial cybercrime in the future, nearly one in three say they have already personally been the victim of online financial fraud or cybercrime. Americans who report being victims of online financial fraud or cybercrime are most likely to say they were a victim of credit card fraud. Among all Americans, nearly half say it is at least somewhat likely they could be a victim of online financial fraud in the future. At the same time, about three in four say they store personal account information with at least one online retailer.

Detailed Findings

1. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans (31%) report being a victim of online financial fraud or cybercrime.
   • Americans ages 35-54 (36%) and 55+ (34%) are more likely to report that they have been a victim of financial cybercrime compared to those ages 18-34 (22%).
2. Among online financial cybercrime or fraud victims, about two-thirds (64%) report they were a victim of credit card fraud.
   • Credit card fraud is the most common type of online financial fraud, distantly followed by data breach (32%), account hacking (31%), online banking fraud or scam (23%), and phishing (14%).
3. Victims of cyberfraud are most likely to react by changing their passwords (93%) or contacting their financial provider (85%).
   • However, fewer victims took the additional actions of placing a fraud alert on their credit report (61%), contacting the credit bureaus (44%), reporting fraud to law enforcement (34%), or scanning their information on the dark web (26%).
4. While most are confident in the steps they have taken to prevent cyberfraud, almost half of American adults (48%) continue to feel it is likely they will become a victim of financial cybercrime in the future.
   • Overall, 73% are confident that they have taken enough steps to prevent them from being the victim of financial cybercrime or online financial fraud.
   • Still, nearly half of Americans (48%) say it is at least somewhat likely they could become a victim of financial cybercrime or online banking fraud in the future.
   • Women are more likely than men to say they are likely become a victim of financial cybercrime or online banking fraud in the future (53% vs. 45%, respectively). Americans ages 55+ are also more likely than those ages 18-34 to say they are likely to become a victim of financial cybercrime or online banking fraud in the future (54% vs. 40%, respectively).
   • At the same time, about three in ten (28%) acknowledge that they don’t have strong enough passwords on their online financial accounts.
5. Many are engaging in a potentially risky behavior with online retailers: storing personal account information. A bare majority (51%) agree that the convenience of saving their account information with an online retailer during checkout outweighs the risk of exposing their information to a data breach.
   • A significant majority (76%) say they have their account information saved with retailers. Half say 5 or fewer retailers know their account information, 12% say their information is on hand for 6-10 retailers, and 14% say either more than 10 or they have lost count. Just 24% say they have not stored any account information with a retailer.
6. One in four Americans (25%) only review their financial statements for suspicious activity every few months, or a few times a year.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll, conducted between September 15 – 18, 2023 on behalf of Wells Fargo. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii was interviewed online in English. The sample includes 319 individuals who report experiencing financial cybercrime or online financial fraud and 686 individuals who report not having experienced financial cybercrime or online financial fraud.

The sample was randomly drawn from Ipsos’ online panel, partner online panel sources, and “river” sampling and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each study, in drawing a sample. After a sample has been obtained from the Ipsos panel, Ipsos calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. Population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2022 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Posthoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, and region.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online non-probability polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (N=1,005, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/- 5.3 percentage points).

The poll also has a credibility interval of plus or minus 6.7 percentage points for individuals who report having experienced financial cybercrime or online financial fraud. The poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points for individuals who report not having experienced financial cybercrime or online fraud.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall

Vice President, US

Public Affairs

+1 202 374-2613

[email protected]

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