McAfee’s 2023 Scam Study Results: Scam Texts More Painful Than Getting a Root Canal

Most Americans would opt for a one-time root canal rather than face a year of scam messages

• Global study reveals consumer overwhelm, caused by the onslaught of increasingly believable text, email, and social media scams amid a rising AI-powered scam surge

• People receive an average of nearly 12 fake messages or scams daily, via email, text, or social media

• The average American spends 94 minutes each week reviewing, verifying, or deciding whether a message sent through text, email, or social media is real or fake, equating to more than two standard work weeks per year

McAfee Corp, a global leader in online protection, today released its first-ever Global Scam Message Study. The study surveyed more than 7,000 adults in seven countries to understand how scam messages, and the increased scam sophistication brought about by artificial intelligence (AI), have impacted the lives of consumers worldwide.

“It’s truly a sign of the times that most Americans would rather subject themselves to the pain and distress of a root canal than be subjected to scam texts and messages throughout the year”

This study reveals that Americans receive an average of 11.6 fake messages or scams each day. Additionally, two-thirds (65%) of Americans have clicked or fallen for a scam, 45% of those people have lost money as a result, and 15% have lost more than $1,000.

AI is a scammer’s favorite tool, helping cybercriminals increase the scale, sophistication and speed of phishing and text message scams. These fake emails, text messages and phishing sites are more believable than ever thanks to the advancements in artificial intelligence. In fact, a new phishing site is created every 11 seconds and McAfee detects and protects against more than a million phishing attempts every single day, illustrating the deluge of scam messages consumers are faced with.

“It’s truly a sign of the times that most Americans would rather subject themselves to the pain and distress of a root canal than be subjected to scam texts and messages throughout the year,” said Roma Majumder, SVP of Product at McAfee. “And it’s not just the speed and volume, but the sophistication. Thanks to AI it can be incredibly difficult to know if that delivery text message or bank alert notification is real or not. So much so that 55% of Americans believe they have a better shot at solving the Rubik’s cube than identifying a scam message.”

“This onslaught of scam messages is a drain on people’s time, energy, and finances. And it’s why we all need AI to beat AI. Unfortunately, seeing is no longer believing and we need to be equipped with advanced AI technology that can stop and block scam messages in real time. I’m proud that McAfee offers solutions to protect people’s privacy, identity and personal information and helps make the online world more enjoyable for everyone,” said Majumder.

The 2023 McAfee Scam Message Study

McAfee’s research revealed four key insights about online scams and spotlights the level of stress people face as AI drives an increase in the number and sophistication of scam messages, along with the need for an AI-driven solution to the problem. The survey results are detailed below.

Today’s scam messages are cleverly camouflaged

84% of Americans surveyed feel that it’s harder than ever to spot when a text, email, or social media message is a scam, and 52% believe hackers are using artificial intelligence to be more accurate and believable with their scams. Further, 39% of people said they noticed that scam messages no longer have typos or errors, and are very believable as a result, and that scam messages are harder to identify because they are often very personal.

This sophisticated trickery takes five common forms. The below numbers indicate the percentage of U.S. survey respondents who’ve received each type of message in the past year:

• You’ve won a prize!” – 62%
• Information about a purchase the recipient didn’t make – 57%
• Fake missed delivery, or delivery problem, notification – 56%
• Amazon security alert, or notification messages regarding account updates – 43%
• Netflix (or a similar streaming service) subscription updates – 42%

People are drowning in a scam message sea

In a time when one-third of U.S. adults report not getting enough daily rest or sleep, an increasing amount of their valuable time is being used to filter through an overwhelming number of scam messages. The average American spends 94 minutes each week reviewing, verifying, or deciding whether a message sent through text, email, social media is real or fake. This amounts to more than two full work weeks each year, spent on scam-spotting. More specifically:

• Email: 95% of Americans surveyed indicate that they receive fake messages or scams via email on a daily basis. 40% receive 5 or more fake email messages each day.
• Text: 87% of U.S. survey respondents indicate that they receive fake messages or scams via text each day. 30% receive 5 or more fake text messages each day.
• Social Media: 75% of the people surveyed indicate that they receive fake messages or scams via social media every day. 30% receive 5 or more of these social media scams daily.

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To click, or not to click, is a potentially complicated question

With the increased volume, and more advanced appearance of scam messages, just 35% of Americans have avoided clicking on or falling for fake messages in the last 12 months. In line with this finding, 65% of survey respondents have believed the content of one or more scam messages was real, with the most believed messages being:

• “You’ve won a prize!” – 25%
• Fake missed delivery, or delivery problem, notification – 20%
• Information about a purchase the recipient didn’t make – 22%
• Sign in and location verification messages – 20%

Engaging with scam messages can be costly and stressful.

Nearly half (45%) of Americans who clicked on a scam message lost money as a result. The people surveyed indicated they would prefer the following painful or scary experiences over dealing with online scam texts and messages throughout the year:

• A one-time root canal – 54%
• 24-hour food poisoning – 40%
• Doing taxes every month – 57%
• Sleep in a haunted house for one night – 55%

An AI ally is needed as scam stakes rise and online trust sinks

As the number of AI-powered scams continues to rise, 40% of U.S. survey respondents say their trust in digital communications has decreased. This trend is largely due to a lack of depth in digital defense knowledge: 37% of people say they don’t know if they are doing the right things to protect themselves. People manage this knowledge gap in different ways:

• 33% of people ignore an email, when they receive an email or text that they think might be a scam
• 31% block the sender when they receive this type of message
• 26% report suspected scam messages

How to Protect Yourself from Scam Messages

• Think before you click. Cybercriminals use phishing emails or fake sites to lure people into clicking links that could lead to malware. If you receive an email or text message asking you to click on a link, even if it’s a great-sounding deal or indicates it’ll provide useful information, it’s best to avoid interacting with the message altogether. Always go direct to the source and interact with reputable companies.

• Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Many scams are effective because the scammer creates a false sense of urgency or preys on a heightened emotional state. Pause before you rush to interact with any message that is threatening or urgent, especially if it is from an unknown or unlikely sender.

• Use AI to beat AI. From blocking dangerous links that appear on text messages, social media, or web browsers, customers across all platforms can take advantage of the AI-driven technology behind McAfee Scam Protection to engage with text messages, read emails, and browse the web peacefully and securely.

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