Stories

• 86% of Australians have help someone they know stay safe online
• 56% help parents, 40% help friends, 35% help children, and 20% help co-workers
• 81% say they have prevented someone they know from being scammed
• This help takes 42 mins p/week, 2.8 hours p/month, or 34 hours p/year on average
• 97% have been targeted by scammers, and 3-in-5 (57%) know someone who has lost money to scammers or online fraud.
• 87% screen calls for fear of scams, and 20% say scams harmed their mental health

New research from PayPal shows 9-in-10 (86%) Australians are moonlighting as tech support volunteers, by helping their friends, family and people they know avoid scams and stay safe online.  

How we save friends and influence people

This safety advice flows more from younger generations to older generations with Australians most likely to be sharing their safety expertise to help their parents (56%), followed by friends (40%) and children (35%). While one-in-five (20%) have been called on to help a co-worker. Only 15% say they’ve never given advice about online security or scams.  

The average Aussie spends 42 minutes per week helping loved ones avoid pitfalls, which equates to 2.8 hours per month, or almost a full work week per year (34 hours).

Millennials are most likely to be called upon for their techspertise, spending an average of 54 minutes per week, 3.6 hours per month or 43 hours per year providing online safety advice.

Thankfully, this generational generosity is having a positive impact, as four-in-five (81%) respondents have actually prevented someone from falling victim to a scam. Unfortunately, despite these valiant efforts, three-in-five (57%) know someone who has lost money to scammers or online fraud.

Word of mouth versus formal channels

Word of mouth information about online safety is just as important as more formal channels, as two thirds (63%) of Australians talk about scams in their social circles and more than half of Australians (54%) get information from their network, compared to online articles and news (62%), online government resources (44%) and TV, radio, or printed news (34%).

It’s no wonder the average Australian feels qualified to help protect their loved ones, as 97% have been targeted by some type of digital scam. Scam calls are the most common, experienced by 85%, followed by scam texts (82%), and scam emails (80%).

The most common safety tips cited by respondents include using complex passwords (87%), using different passwords for different accounts, avoiding links in text messages (76%), and enabling two-factor authentication (74%). Another popular tip is to use PayPal for secure online purchases (55%), with 84% saying they are more likely to check out online if there is a secure payment option like PayPal.    

The costs of constant vigilance

Despite this impressive shared knowledge, 93% of Aussies are concerned about online scams, 85% say they are becoming more sophisticated and harder to spot, and 40% are more concerned than they were a year ago.

This concern is interfering with daily life, as 87% avoid phone calls from unknown numbers for fear of being scammed, 20% say being scammed has impacted their mental health, and 15% have even missed a genuine payment as they mistook a notice or reminder as a scam.  

“There is an evolutionary advantage to exchanging information about threats and potential harms, and it seems we are instinctively hardwired to help improve collective risk awareness across our networks,” said PayPal Head of Information Security, Daniela Fernandez.

“It’s touching that Australians are so willing to help their parents, family and friends stay safe from scams and other online dangers. However, the best defense is for individuals to maintain personal cyber safety awareness and precautions, so we must help others help themselves going forward.”

About the Research

The 2024 Online Generational Security Research was produced by PayPal Australia, based on an online study conducted by PureProfile with n=1000 sample size. The consumer research consisted of a sample audience of Australians aged 18-75, and was weighted by age, gender and location to ensure data was nationally representative. Quotas and samples were set on turnover and location. The research was fielded from 5 April to 10 April 2024.