With the following context write me a conclusion 1 Introduction – 694 words

1.1	Background

In today's digital age, the widespread use of the internet and various technologies has led to innovative developments in communication, commerce, finance, and other areas. However, this digital transformation has also created new opportunities for criminal activities, particularly in the form of online scams and fraud. With the ability to store valuable data and information online, technology has provided criminals with a remote way to operate. Scammers are constantly adapting and evolving their tactics and strategies to exploit technological advancements and our increasing dependence on them. This ever-changing landscape poses a significant challenge for individuals and organisations seeking to protect themselves from such threats. Gaining a deep understanding of the evolution of these practices is vital in forming an effective countermeasure against the many forms of online scams. 
Scamming tactics have been around for thousands of years. Scammers continue to develop new ways to trick vulnerable and unsuspecting individuals and organisations into divulging sensitive and private information that is then maliciously used against them. From insurance fraud to mail fraud and many more, these tactics have been prevalent throughout history. One of the earliest recorded cases of fraud or scam occurred in 300 BC. A Greek sea merchant by the name of Hegestratos once took out an insurance policy called a bottomry. This policy allowed merchants to borrow money with the agreement to repay it with interest once they delivered their cargo. If the loan was not repaid, the merchant's ship and cargo would be repossessed. Hegestratos took out the loan, but instead of delivering the cargo, he intentionally sank his empty ship to pocket all the money he had borrowed. However, his plan failed as he was caught in the act of sinking the ship and was chased off the vessel, which resulted in his drowning as he tried to escape.(Johnson, 2023) Throughout history, there have been many cases of scams that are unique in their own way and evolve around their current situations. For example, the snake oil scams, which were frequent during the 1800s, the Nigerian prince scams, Spanish prisoner and email scams which were prevalent during the 19th century, and the current scams we have today such as social media scams, investment scams, cryptocurrency scams, and many more. Scammers adapt to their current environment and the opportunities made available by new ideas and technological advancements. 
The evolution of scamming tactics can be attributed to three main factors: the increasing digitisation of financial transactions, the vast amount of personal data available online, and the rapid pace of technological innovation. Scammers take advantage of these factors to refine their methods and bypass security measures. They also exploit human psychology to make their schemes more believable and difficult to detect. As a result, they continuously adapt their tactics to stay ahead of the game, making it challenging for the masses to recognise and avoid their scams. Scammers are becoming more sophisticated with their tactics, in order to gain trust, they capitalise on technological innovation as there is little information known about them, they also adopt different strategies and make use of what is available to them. Scammers will emotionally manipulate you in order to maximise their profits and gain significant trust, this is used in scams such as the “pig butchering” scam, in which scammers build trust with victims first before cheating them in fraudulent schemes. These scammers mainly target users on online chat groups or dating apps and groom the victim over months giving them a sense of security and trust. (Reuben, 2022)
Falling prey to online scams can have catastrophic consequences both for individuals and organisations. Individuals may suffer financial loss, identity theft, and negative mental health effects. Additionally, trust in digital platforms may be eroded. For organisations, the implications can be even more severe, including financial damages, reputational harm, and legal consequences. This highlights the crucial need for robust digital security measures to protect against online scams. 

1.2	Purpose of this project

The purpose of this project is to identify and outline the tactics and strategies that are employed by scammers. As well as finding ways for individuals and organisations to protect themselves against scams. This project will also identify who is more likely to fall for scams and what age demographic is targeted the most. 














2 Methodology – 622 words

2.1 Research Preparation

For my topic, I have taken a great amount of preparation. I have firstly chosen a topic which has interested me and has helped sustain my motivation throughout my work as well as something that is an important and relevant topic to my course and studies. I have also conducted a preliminary literature review to ensure that there’s enough material on my topic. I have conducted very thorough research by utilising a variety of sources, including academic journals, books and credible online resources. While writing this paper I have created a detailed outline before starting which has provided me with a clear structure and has aided me in identifying gaps in my research.

2.2 Sources of information

I have gathered my sources of information electronically using the Internet, by searching for various keywords I was able to find and locate relevant and recent articles, news, journals and various other types of sources of information. By utilising online libraries and databases such as IEEE Xplore and Google Scholar I was able to find relevant and credible research papers and information which have aided me throughout my work, I have also looked at previous theses and dissertations which provided me with great insight into how others have approached and answered similar topics. As well as those I have also gathered information from government and institutional reports as they provide valuable information towards my work and the information is credible and relevant to my needs.

 2.3 Evaluation of the literature

While conducting a preliminary literature review, I have found various articles and sources of information which have useful information and have relevancy to my topic. My main focus when reviewing current literature was finding accurate, up-to-date, relevant and credible pieces of information. This was done by briefly skimming over the articles and papers searching for relevant keywords and pieces of information to ensure that I didn’t waste any time. Also, while undergoing a review of the current literature I have made sure to do a quick review of the current pieces of literature to identify the gaps and areas of improvement that I can use in my own paper. I looked at the benefits and the disadvantages of their methodology, findings, sources of information and points made, this was so that I could formulate a better understanding of the current literature and improve the way I completed my own literature. 

2.4 Ethical considerations

It is important to consider ethical considerations before starting any work. By adhering to good practices, you can maintain the integrity of your work and ensure it follows the highest standards of academic and moral conduct.  Before starting my paper, I filled out an ethics form stating the type of data I would be using, how and where I would collect it from, and making sure that all sources and information used were referenced. I have also received ethical approval from my project supervisor on the data I collected and used. As I will be using secondary research data, I do not need to collect data from any participants through questionnaires, surveys or meetings. I made it clear from the beginning that I would not be conducting any primary research.  I have ensured that all materials I gathered and used were properly referenced and credited. Addressing ethical considerations required thorough planning before starting my work and during the research and completion of my work. By upholding these values, my research findings are validated, and the trustworthiness of my work is ensured.

2.4.1 Use of bibliographic resources

All resources and materials used were fully and accurately referenced in Harvard format and the links to the web pages can be found in the references section.

2.4.2 Use of images

All images obtained and used were gathered from online sources and were accurately referenced, all of them have been acknowledged in accordance with the copyright legislation.









3 Project Overview – 1387 words

3.1 Introduction to Scams 

To begin with, a scam is “A dishonest plan for making money or getting an advantage, especially one that involves tricking people” (Cambridge Dictionary, N/A) Scams can happen to anyone, regardless of their age or gender. However, those who frequently use technology and the internet are more susceptible to being scammed. Scammers succeed because they make their scams look like the real thing and catch you off guard when you least expect it. Unfortunately, scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics as they take advantage of new technology and products. (NDIS, N/A) While there are many definitions of what scams are and what they mean they all have a similar and consistent meaning that the general consensus agrees upon that which is stated above. 
With the advancements in technology, scammers have also found new ways to deceive people. These scams are becoming more frequent and sophisticated than ever before. There are several types of scams that exist in modern society. According to a press release by Natwest, the most common financial scams in 2023 were phishing scams, trusted organisation scams, refund scams, friend and family scams, get-rich-quick schemes, purchase scams, investment scams, safe account scams, lottery cons, and befriending scams. Phishing scams made up 37% of the total scams. In this type of scam, individuals receive fake emails, calls, and messages from what appear to be legitimate websites. Trusted organisation scams accounted for 21% of the scams where criminals impersonate trusted organisations such as energy companies, service providers, and delivery companies. Refund scams made up 13% of the scams, where criminals impersonate trusted organisations and ask for personal information. Friend and family scams accounted for 12% of the scams, where victims receive messages from someone claiming to be someone they know and asking for money. Get-rich-quick schemes made up 9% of the scams, where criminals tricked victims into investing in a company or goods with the promise of making them rich. Purchase scams accounted for 9% of the scams, where criminals placed adverts for fake goods and products online. Investment scams made up 8% of the scams, where criminals encouraged individuals to invest money into fake opportunities or pyramid schemes. Safe account scams accounted for 7% of the scams, where criminals called victims pretending to be banks or law enforcement and claimed that they had detected fraudulent activity on their accounts. Lottery cons made up 7% of the scams, where victims were falsely informed that they had won the lottery and asked to provide personal or financial information. Befriending scams accounted for 6% of the scams, where criminals created fake accounts on social media to build up trust and ask for money, login information and other things. The report also shows that 13% of Brits have lost their money to fraud. The top 10 most common scams are digital platforms, social media, and telecommunications-based. (Natwest, 2023)


3.1.1 History of Scams

By looking at the history of scams and their evolutions throughout different periods of time we can make an accurate conclusion that one of the many reasons scams are made and done is for financial gain. Scammers are primarily motivated by financial gain. They intend to deceive their victims in order to obtain valuable items, such as currency, information, physical objects, or any other valuable assets that can be used for personal gain. (Science Direct, N/A) This can be backed up further as we can see many major scams in history have been all related to financial gain some of these scams are:
•	William Duer committed an insider trading scandal in the late 1700s when he relied on his information edge to keep ahead of the market.
•	Ulysses S. Grant, the Civil War general, created a financial panic in 1884 when he could not raise funds to save his son's failing business.
•	In the late 1800s, Daniel Drew used techniques known as a corner, poop and scoop, and pump and dump to defraud stock market investors.
•	After World War I, stock pools composed of the wealthy manipulated large stocks such as Chrysler, RCA, and Standard Oil until the market crashed in 1929.
(Beattie, 2022)
The events mentioned above were all connected with the aim of making money and manipulating currency. This shows that regardless of the time period, major scams are primarily driven by financial gain. Additionally, these events share similar tactics such as the manipulation of data. Therefore, any information that we possess can be a target for scammers who will use it to their advantage and for their financial benefit. Over the years scams have evolved to their time and environment but have in a way also stayed the same in nature and goals. Some of the biggest scams recorded in history were around investment and insurance scams, from the very first scam of Hegestratos in 300BC, to 193AD when the Praetorian Guards assassinated Pertinax solely for the purpose of selling the Empire in an auction which started a war, to a property fraud in 1821 by Gregor Macgregor who conned investors into believing they were investing into property building, to 1911 where the Mona Lisa was stolen by Eduardo de Valiferno and he sold copies to underground collectors, to the 1920s where the Ponzi scheme when cheque fraud and identity fraud was rising, moving onto the 1980s where technology was beginning to advance and opened up a new way for scammers to create cheque, card and currency fraud. One of the biggest scams in history was the Ponzi scheme which many people used to commit fraud and scams, the Ponzi scheme was used by some of the biggest fraudsters in history such as the creator of the Ponzi scheme, Charles Ponzi, to Bernard Madoff, and Sergei Mavrodi. (Fraud.com, 2022) (Webjuice, 2023)
Some of the biggest cases of scams and fraud that changed the world are – The Perkin Warbeck in the 15th century. Perkin Warbeck is the perpetrator of one of the most audacious cases of identity theft in history, In today's society identity theft is a real challenge for modern organisations as scammers can make use of stolen identities to access accounts and defraud victims of their money. Some consequences can be short and some can be long-term damage to the victims as was one severe case of an individual who became liable for £164,000 of debt after their passport was stolen. The passport was used to set up fake companies which ran up debts with German tax authorities. (Equifax, N/A) This can be considered a very severe case, however, Perkin Warbeck took it to an even greater scale, by targeting the British throne. By forging a new identity and claiming to be the Duke of York, he had raised an army of 6000 soldiers and gained the favour of some royals to take the throne from Tudor King Henry VII. 
In 1837, François and Joseph Blanc were involved in a significant case of telecommunications fraud, the first of its kind. Telecom fraud refers to any activity that aims to exploit telecommunications products and services to gain an advantage over telecommunications companies through fraudulent practices or strategic attacks. This type of fraud can occur on landlines, mobile phones, cloud systems, and on-premise PBX systems. (Subex, 2023) At the time in Paris 1837 modern technology was the “Optical Telegraph”  which was a series of huge towers with wooden signalling arms that would be adjusted to send messages. The messages would be passed from tower to tower, realising this, Francois and Joseph found a method to hack this network by bribing a signaller to send secret messages about stock market changes.
Another case of fraud that changed history would be Barings Bank in 1995. A rogue Trader Nick Leeson, who at the time was the head of derivates at Barings Bank Singapore, gambled over $1 billion of unhedged positions on markets, falsifying internal accounting records. (Neural Technologies, 2021)
Scams have evolved over time as a result of human nature and ingenuity. With advances in technology and society, fraudulent individuals continually devise new tactics to deceive people. To combat scams, it is crucial to raise awareness and provide education. However, this fight is likely to persist as long as humanity endures, as new technology will be created and innovated. With each new invention and innovation, criminals will come up with ways to take advantage of them for their financial fulfilment.










4 Literature Review – 1591 words

4.1 Introduction

As the digital age has evolved and has made it easier for individuals and organisations to access and share information, it has also introduced huge risks in the form of digital scams. These digital scams have evolved and come a long way from simple telephone and email scams to very technologically advanced techniques utilising the limitless potential of AI and simply taking advantage of human psychology. 

4.2 Psychology of Scams

Not a day goes by without any mention of victims being scammed and losing their money. There are constant warnings about new scams and ways to keep yourself safe. Yet there are still people getting scammed every day and the number is increasing, according to BDO’s FraudTrack 2024, the annual fraud total from 2023 was a 104% increase to 2022. (ICAEW Insights, 2024) Scammers use psychological techniques to exploit victims' emotions and their rational thoughts. By using these developed techniques they coerce victims into making irrational and impulsive decisions. One of the main ways scammers use these psychological techniques is to create a sense of urgency, scammers will fabricate scenarios that require immediate action, such as claiming that there have been suspicious activities and purchases made from your bank account. This is to prevent victims from thinking calmly and making them rush in their decisions due to an urgent event, they will coerce you into taking action immediately or you may lose your money while provoking reactions by threatening with legal and financial troubles, which instils fear into victims. (Psaroulis, 2024) 
Another factor is “The Window of Tolerance”, the window of tolerance is a model founded by Dan Siegel in 1999 in his book called “The Developing Mind” (Government of Jersey, 2020) which talks about every individual's range of intensities of emotional experience.  Each individual has a certain range of tolerance, which is referred to as the zone of optimal arousal or the window of tolerance. This range is bounded by an upper and a lower limit. If a person's level of arousal goes above the upper boundary, they enter a state of ‘hyperarousal’, while going below the lower limit puts them in a state of ‘hypoarousal’. Whenever a person's level of arousal falls outside the boundaries of their window of tolerance, their thinking and behaviour can become disrupted. Siegel has elaborated on this concept. “A flood of energy may bombard the mind and take over a number of processes, ranging from rational thinking to social behaviour. At this point, emotions may flood conscious awareness. Some have called this an emotional “hijacking,” “breakdown,” or “flooding.” In such a situation, one’s behaviour may no longer feel volitional, and thoughts may feel out of control. Images may fill the mind’s eye with visual representations symbolic of the emotional sensation.” (Psychology Tools, N/A)  A research study has revealed that many scam victims who participated in the study were already under a lot of stress and anxiety due to significant life events and daily pressures like work and exams. As a result, they were at or beyond their own personal limits of mental tolerance. When questioned, these victims reported that their emotional state at the time made it difficult for them to maintain their rationality, leading them to be unable to easily recognise the warning signs of scams. (Advocacy Team, N/A)
Scammers often pretend to be reputable and trustworthy organisations that we regularly interact with, such as Microsoft, banks, or delivery companies etc. In the book "Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken in and What We Can Do About It," written by Daniel Simons, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, and Christopher Chabris, a cognitive scientist who has taught at Harvard University, the authors explain how our common psychological habits can make us vulnerable to deception. Our tendency to trust familiar sources or information we've seen before, our assumption that consistency indicates integrity, our tendency to overvalue our assumptions without careful checking, and our reluctance to ask more questions are all traits that can make us easier to fool. (Yates, 2023) As reported by the HSBC bank nearly £1.1 million was reported stolen by impersonation scammers in March 2023 alone, HSBC and other banks like Santander have warned about a surge in impersonation scams. (Hunter, 2024) 
Scammers often resort to social engineering tactics to obtain confidential information. Social engineering involves manipulating people into revealing their passwords, bank details, or access to their computers. This allows scammers to install malicious software on the victim's computer, giving them complete control over it and access to their sensitive data. Criminals use social engineering tactics because it is easier to exploit someone's trust rather than hack their software. In other words, it is much simpler to trick someone into giving their password than to attempt to hack it (unless the password is weak). (WebRoot, N/A) 
Figure 1
(Imperva, 2023)
The image depicted above illustrates the various stages of the social engineering cycle. Scammers typically follow these rules to manipulate their victims. One of the most significant threats posed by social engineering is that scammers don't have to trick everyone. They only need to deceive one victim successfully to gain enough information to launch an attack that could affect an entire organisation. (Cisco, 2024) 

4.3 Role of technology in scamming
With the evolution and innovation of technology has come e-commerce. E-commerce stands for electronic commerce, which implies the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. It encompasses various market segments and can be performed on computers, tablets, smartphones, and other smart devices. E-commerce provides access to an extensive range of products and services, such as books, music, plane tickets, and even financial services like online banking and stock investing.(Bloomenthal, 2024) However, with the coming of e-commerce so have e-commerce scams. E-commerce fraud is a type of cybercrime that happens during online transactions between customers and businesses. The perpetrators deceive people and companies to access personal and financial data, carry out fraudulent transactions, or take advantage of the online retail industry for their own benefit. This kind of fraud can lead to substantial financial losses for both the businesses and their customers, and it can also harm the reputation of the companies and industries involved. (Stripe, 2023) Scammers have created fake websites that mimic legitimate e-commerce websites to trick consumers into providing their personal and financial information. These websites will look professional and legitimate but the spelling of some things will be different to the original, they make small subtle changes that will not be noticed easily such as the URL containing minor spelling changes and ending with .com instead of .co.uk for websites like Argos, Currys, etc. One of the quickest ways to verify if a website is secure is to check if it has HTTPS in its URL, along with a padlock symbol next to it. This indicates that the website uses SSL encryption, which is more reliable than HTTP. When a website uses HTTPS, no one can read the data being transmitted between the website and the user. Additionally, if the website's URL looks almost identical to the official address of a legitimate retailer but is slightly different, it could be a sign that the website is not trustworthy. (Raath, 2024) 
With the advancement of technology, scammers can now operate from anywhere without revealing their true identity. They use virtual private networks (VPNs), proxy servers, and the Tor network to conceal their location and make it difficult for law enforcement to identify and prosecute them. The internet's global nature enables scammers to conduct their fraudulent activities on an international scale. A VPN, short for virtual private network, is a technology that connects your computer or device to a remote server owned by a VPN provider, creating a secure and encrypted tunnel between them. This tunnel encrypts your personal data, hides your IP address, and allows you to bypass website blocks and firewalls on the internet. By using a VPN, you can ensure that your online activities are private, protected, and more secure. (Microsoft, no date) This is the reason why scammers use VPNs as it makes it harder for law enforcement to track them and it helps keep their activities hidden.
As we move forward into the era of AI, with all its boundless abilities and applications, we must also be aware of the risks and dangers posed by scammers who use AI technology. There have already been several reported incidents of fraud involving the use of AI, such as voice clones being utilised to carry out a scam against a UK-based energy company, a fake kidnapping case in the US, and instances where deep fake videos of celebrities have been used to promote investment scams. One such case involved a deep fake of Martin Lewis, a financial expert known for his money-saving tips. (PWC, 2023) With the ability of AI’s voice cloning, scammers are beginning to pose as relatives or friends over phone calls, after fabricating a story usually about emergencies they ask their victims to send money immediately. (Sea Coast Bank, 2023) Another feature of AI is its deep fake technology, a deep fake is “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said” (Merriam-Webster, no date) By using deep fake technology scammers can impersonate anyone as it is slowly becoming harder to tell apart from the real thing. In Hong Kong, fraudsters used deepfakes to trick a finance worker at a multinational company into paying out $25m after staging a fake video call with the company's CFO and other colleagues. (Visser, 2024)


















5 Findings and Analysis – 2689 words

5.1 Threats to Individuals

There are many speculations and opinions on what age group is most likely to get scammed and what age group is more vulnerable compared to the rest. After gathering many sources of information I have identified the answer to these speculations. There is a case where the younger demographic of individuals are more confident that they can spot scams, the main reason being is that they are more familiar with technology and spend more time with it which gives them the assurance that they are able to spot scams and know how to avoid them. However, research shows that adults aged 18-34 are the most vulnerable to scams. This age group has been scammed more than any other age group, with over a third of them (34%) admitting that they wouldn't know who to turn to for help if they were scammed. (Poulter, 2024) More research shows that those ages account for more than half of scams experienced in the UK (Local Government Association, 2021) According to a survey, 71% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 34 reported being contacted by impersonation scammers. Out of those targeted, 73% said they were tricked into disclosing personal information or sending money. (UK Finance, no date) Although the younger demographic seems to be more susceptible to scams that doesn’t mean any other age group is safe or not targeted, as every age group is targeted but in different ways and methods. 
An article published by the Fulton Bank shows which scams are the most common for each age group, below are the age groups and the common scams against them.
•	It's worth noting that scams targeting younger people, those aged 17 and under, are becoming more and more common. Social media scams are one of the primary ways in which scammers try to obtain personal information and money from younger people. These scams typically involve fake surveys, events, and contests, and scammers will often try to befriend their targets online to gain their trust. Another popular scam involves offering free items, such as gift cards or accessories, with hidden charges in monthly subscriptions. These charges can be easily missed by younger people who may not be as aware of their finances. Finally, online auctions can also be a source of scams, with scammers tricking their targets into either bidding and paying for items that never arrive or selling items and not paying for them.
•	Scammers often target young adults aged 18-29 with various types of scams. The most common scams for this age group are online income scams, fake sale listing scams, and debt-related scams. Online income scams are prevalent among young adults, where scammers promise quick and easy money-making opportunities from the comfort of their own homes. Victims are asked to send money to the scammers, who then disappear without fulfilling their promises. Fake sale listing scams are also common, where scammers list goods, services, and items online at prices much lower than the market price. Once the payment is made, the victims do not receive anything in return. Debt-related scams are when scammers approach people offering to reduce or clear their debts for a one-time fee. Victims are pressured into making these payments, which do not provide any actual benefits for their debts. 
•	Scams are unfortunately common these days, and people aged 30-59 are often targeted by property foreclosure rescue scams, debt collection scams, and lending scams. Property foreclosure rescue scams involve scammers pretending to be lenders or loan services, offering to refinance a property at a better rate or halt a foreclosure. However, they will ask for a large upfront fee and then either ignore you or trick you into signing documents that transfer the property to predatory companies. Debt collection scams involve scammers pretending to be law enforcement or debt collectors trying to collect a debt that doesn't exist. They may threaten violence or jail time if the payment is not made. Lending scams involve victims applying for a loan through an online website or app, where scammers offer guaranteed approvals even if the victim has bad or no credit. However, they require an upfront fee as insurance or processing fee.
•	For ages 60 and over the three most common scams are government impersonation scams, grandparent scams, and counterfeit prescription drug scams. Government impersonation scams involve scammers pretending to be trusted individuals from government agencies. They use scare tactics to pressure victims into sending them money. Grandparent scams occur when scammers trick victims into thinking they are family members or bail bondsmen. They ask for money to help their grandchildren, but it's all a lie. Counterfeit prescription drug scams are when scammers offer "miracle" drugs or ointments that promise to help with illnesses and ailments at a discounted price. Unfortunately, the drugs never arrive, leaving the victims out of pocket and without the promised treatment.
 (Fulton Bank, no date)
Even though scams are done to all ages, the younger demographic seems to be the most targeted and easier to scam. One of the many reasons for this is because of too much confidence. Many would assume that the elderly are in the top percentile of scam victims, the reason being is that they are elderly and may not have as much knowledge of technology as other age groups. However, it is the opposite scammers are more likely to attack those who are frequently online, and as technology advances so does their scamming strategies and techniques. New ways are being created to scam as we move to a more digital era where everyone is online and storing information online. The younger generation has an unfound confidence in their digital skills and familiarity with all things technological, due to this they have a much more relaxed attitude, which is their biggest risk. Relying on their digital skills and the time they spend they have a relaxed attitude while using technology and social media, the problem with this is that they often do not see obvious signs of scams which leads to them getting scammed.



Figure 2
(Federal Trade Commission, 2022)
The image above shows what contact methods were used to contact victims and age groups. As you can infer the younger age group was more prone to scams that were more technologically based such as social media, websites/apps etc. Whereas, the older age group was more prone to direct methods such as phone calls, online ads, and emails. What we can take from this is that certain age groups are prone to different methods and strategies on the other hand those same strategies and methods are not as effective in another age group. 
Even though 18 – 34-year-olds are the most prone to scams, from 2021 to 2024 the biggest losses to scams were those aged 65+. 
Figure 3

(Australian competition and Consumer Comission, 2023)
The image above shows how much losses were incurred by each age group in 2024 so far. As we can see those aged 65+ have had the most losses. This reason may be due to the types of scams that they are targeted with and also due to how much money they may possess from retirement funds and life insurance etc. 
Figure 4
(Australian competition and Consumer Comission, 2023)
The image above shows what the most common types of delivery methods are, which correlates with Figure 2. Phone calls, text messages and emails were the largest delivery methods to which those aged 60+ were more prone.

5.1.1 Possible Solutions

While there is no guaranteed way to completely stop scams from ever occurring there are ways individuals can take in order to lessen the chances of them being scammed, such as being very careful and vigilant while online. Also, there are some common phrases that are used which can be followed such as “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” Following this is a great way to keep yourself safe, as scammers will try their best to persuade and entice you with deals that are too good to be true and in a individuals moments of desperation they may fall for these tricks. In the slim chance it is a legitimate and real deal there is another saying “Better to be safe than sorry” Even if the deals and offers are true it is best to be cautious and lose out on a deal than to indulge and lose money. (Sproson, 2024)
Figure 5
(Australian competition and Consumer Comission, 2023)
As you can see from Figure 5, the most common scam that has been reported in 2024, is phishing and by a large margin at that. It is now very common for individuals to receive fake emails or text messages from companies such as Royal Mail, Amazon and more, where they contain malicious links. As per the “golden rules” of the metropolitan police “Always log on to a website directly rather than clicking on links in an email” (Metropolitan police, no date) Another precaution people can take is identifying the tactics of scammers, according to the FTC there are 4 main ways you can identify scams these are: 
1.	Scammers will pretend to be from an organisation you know. Scammers will often pretend to be from reputable and famous companies that you may use and know such as Amazon, Royal Mail, Evri, utility companies, tech companies etc. They may also use technology to change the phone number that appears when calling so the name and ID may not be real.
2.	Scammers will usually say there is a problem or a prize. Usually, scammers will bring up non-existent problems such as trouble with authorities, parcels being lost, viruses on your computer, debt unpaid, family emergencies and more. They may also bring up problems with account details being incorrect and ask you to click on links to change information. On the other hand, they may also say you have won a prize or contest and ask for payments or details to receive them.
3.	Scammers will use pressure tactics. Scammers will use a tactic called the pressure tactic, this is where they will put as much pressure on you so that you aren’t thinking rationally and are under pressure. They will be threatened with jail time, hacking, suing and many other consequences. When conversing on the phone scammers may tell you not to hang up the line as to make sure you don’t have time to think straight.
4.	Scammers will ask you to pay in specific ways. Scammers will often ask you to pay in other ways than normal, some of these ways are through cryptocurrency, gift cards, wiring money through companies like Western Union etc. Legitimate companies will never ask you to pay through these ways, scammers will use these payment versions as it is harder for law enforcement to trace it back to them.
(Amy Herbert et al, 2024)

5.2 Threats to Organisations
Scammers will pose a huge threat to organisations as they hold lots of data and customer information. According to the PWC, almost half of organisations have suffered from fraud or economic crimes from 2020-2022 (Ellerbeck, 2022) One huge threat to business is the rise of impersonation scams, Impersonation scams involve copying the identifying features of a person, brand, or organisation with the aim of committing fraud. An impersonator assumes the identity of someone else for their own benefit. Typically, the objective is to obtain sensitive information or sell fake goods. (Bleidorn, 2024) According to UK Finance, 45,367 impersonation scams were reported in 2022 resulting in a loss of £177.6m. Research shows that only 51% of businesses verify the authenticity of requests for sensitive information. (The Business Resilience Centre, 2023) There are many consequences of impersonation scams such as financial loss, reputational damage, threat to confidential information, loss of customer trust, legal consequences and more. One of the biggest threats that businesses face today is the potential legal and regulatory consequences of impersonation fraud incidents. If customer data is compromised due to fraud, companies may face fines, lawsuits, or regulatory sanctions for not properly protecting the data. The severity of the consequences will depend on the nature of the fraud and the extent of the data breach. (Hunter, 2024)
Phishing is one of the biggest threats to an organisation as it only takes one employee to make a mistake for significant damage to occur. Phishing emails are becoming much more sophisticated and difficult to detect. An Intel Security study has revealed that approximately 80% of data breaches are caused by human errors. Such mistakes can lead to significant financial losses for organisations and leave them vulnerable to cyber attacks, malware infections and email scams. Shockingly, only 25% of phishing emails are detected by employees. (Liapustin, 2024) As research suggests employees usually fall victim to scams, which leads to security breaches. This is due to naïve or poorly trained staff, lack of protocols, and outdated browser plug-ins. There are numerous other factors which lead to employees falling victim to phishing scams such as; impulsivity, research shows that people who make decisions impulsively are more likely to fall for phishing scams. (Susan Nolan and Michael Kimball, 2023) (Patrick, 2023) Another factor is time pressure, people under time pressure will make hasty decisions and may overlook signs that you’d normally be able to tell. (Susan Nolan and Michael Kimball, 2023) Another large factor is stress and anxiety, Experiencing stress and anxiety can negatively impact the neurons located in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which are responsible for making sound decisions. When under stress, individuals may tend to focus more on the potential benefits of a particular decision while ignoring the possible risks, and even disregarding any negative information. (Jeff Hancock and Tim Sadler, 2020) Phishing emails are designed to manipulate emotions and unconscious bias. (Schenkman, 2020) Another factor is lack of awareness, employees who have a lack of knowledge of cyber threats are more vulnerable to scams. (Patrick, 2023) Tessian, a company that offers email security, conducted a survey which revealed that 43% of employees confessed to having made a mistake that compromised their organisation's security. Additionally, 47% of people working in the technology sector admitted to having clicked on a phishing email while at work. (Jeff Hancock and Tim Sadler, 2020) 

5.2.1 Possible Solutions

There are a myriad of ways for organisations to protect themselves from scams. Some of these steps include; Fraud detection, Fraud detection involves analysing data for discrepancies, monitoring transactions for irregularities, and identifying warning signs of fraudulent activity. (Chia, 2023) Similarly to fraud detection, there is fraud prevention, Fraud prevention involves creating internal controls, performing background checks, and implementing anti-fraud policies. (Chia, 2023) Regular communication with employees is an important measure to prevent successful cyber attacks on organisations. By regularly communicating about fraud prevention policies, employee awareness about cyber crime can be increased. It is well documented that employee fraud awareness sessions have positive effects in this regard. (TrustPair, 2024) Educating employees about fraud prevention policies can be done in various ways. One method involves carrying out simulated fraud scenarios to assess their responses and develop effective strategies. Another approach is to provide training on new fraud prevention protocols to get employees up to speed. It is also important to address any questions employees may have regarding new software and systems being implemented. Additionally, it is crucial to make the consequences of internal fraud attempts - including fines and other penalties - clear to all employees. (TrustPair, 2024) (Todd, 2017) Some other ways to mitigate the possibility of scams are to hire trustworthy employees as well as utilise automation to minimise the risk of fraud. (TrustPair, 2024) Organisations should consider their employees' mental health as a crucial factor. To achieve this, employees should be given the freedom to create their own work schedules, remote work options should be offered, and four-day work weeks should be tested. Additionally, businesses should provide training to their managers on how to promote health and well-being among employees and listen to their feedback to improve the work environment. (American Psychological Association, 2023) By prioritising the mental well-being of employees, companies can reduce stress, increase employee engagement, and retain their workforce while decreasing the likelihood of whistle-blowers and malicious employees.