Awareness, education, and vigilance are key components in the fight against scams. A common misperception is that tech-savvy younger adults are, in turn, more “scam savvy” and less likely to fall victim to cybercrime. However, according to recent research from Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) and Amazon, young adults (aged 18-25) are even more susceptible to impersonation scams, investment scams, cryptocurrency scams, and other cyber threats despite their online experience.
This research was a collaboration between GCA, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to building communities to deploy tools, services, and programs that provide cybersecurity at global scale, and Amazon. Together, we conducted surveys, focus groups, and independent research on habits, risk perception, and awareness, knowledge, and personal experience with scams. The data highlighted and validated that young adults are overconfident, confused by scams, do not report incidents, and have growing privacy concerns.
In response to this finding, GCA, with Amazon’s support, announced the launch of a new, mobile-friendly tool called CyberFlex. CyberFlex is a free tool, designed to protect young adults across the globe from online threats.
“We assume ‘digital natives’ can avoid scams and risks online, but data shows the opposite,” said Brian Cute, chief operating officer at GCA. “Instead, they are a growing target for cybercriminals. CyberFlex engages them where they live online and provides valuable resources to build a more trustworthy internet.”
GCA and Amazon are working to improve consumer education around scam identification, prevention, and reporting, and seeking to help scam victims find justice.
Joining the global fight against cybercrime
Scams and cybercrime are a global issue, and one that Amazon and GCA take seriously. CyberFlex builds on a GCA and Amazon collaboration to foster consumer education addressing scams among young Internet users globally.
“Scammers that attempt to impersonate trusted brands put consumers of all ages at risk,” said Scott Knapp, director of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon. “Amazon is committed to protecting consumers from impersonation scams and is proud to continue our collaboration with Global Cyber Alliance to provide resources that help young adults identify, avoid, and report scams. Scammers use convincing tactics to reel people in, which is why education around scam avoidance is critical to keeping consumers safe.”
CyberFlex aims to raise awareness, shift attitudes, and provide easy steps to help young adults protect themselves and share their stories. The free tools, interactive guides, and text alerts are designed to help prevent, mitigate, report, and recover from scams and other cyber risks. CyberFlex will:
- Empower users to identify common threats and relevant scams affecting their age group
- Protect users with proven tools and an engaging interactive experience to help them spot and detect relevant and complex scams
- Provide improved reporting to help share their experience and raise the visibility of current scams
- Help others who have fallen victim recover and seek justice
To learn more about Amazon’s approach to protecting consumers from impersonation scams, visit our Scam Prevention page here.