An average Indian gets 12 fake messages daily and these are the most common ones they fall prey to: Study

An Indian citizen receives approximately 12 counterfeit messages or fraudulent schemes on an average daily via email, text, or social media. They spend around 1.8 hours each week reviewing, confirming, or determining the authenticity of these messages, as revealed in a report published on Wednesday. 

The study, McAfee's inaugural 'Global Scam Message' investigation, found that roughly 82 per cent of surveyed Indians have either clicked on or fallen victim to bogus messages. Surprisingly, 49 per cent noted that these scam messages are now crafted with such precision that they lack typos or errors, making them more convincing and challenging to spot. 

Among the most prevalent forms of sophisticated deception, the majority of Indian consumers succumb to fake job notifications or offers (64 per cent) and bank alert messages (52 per cent). 

This comprehensive study included over 7,000 adults in seven countries, including India. It aimed to gauge the impact of scam messages and the heightened sophistication facilitated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) on consumers worldwide. 

Roma Majumder, SVP of Product at McAfee, remarked, "It’s truly a sign of the times that most Indian consumers would rather subject themselves to the pain and distress of a root canal than be subjected to scam texts and messages throughout the year. 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 73 per cent of Indians believe they have a better shot at solving the Rubik’s cube than identifying a scam message." 

Approximately 60 per cent of Indian respondents believe that identifying scam messages has become more difficult, attributing this trend to hackers leveraging AI to enhance the credibility of their scams. 

The report also noted that about 90 per cent of Indians receive fake messages or scams through email and text on a daily basis, while 84 per cent report the same occurrence on social media platforms. 

As the prevalence of AI-powered scams continues to rise, 37 per cent of Indian survey participants stated that their trust in digital communications has diminished. This decline is largely attributed to a lack of comprehensive knowledge about digital defense measures, with most uncertain about whether they are taking the appropriate steps to protect themselves. 

Here are some of the messages that people easily fall for: 

You’ve won a prize! – 72 per cent 

Fake job notifications or offers – 64 per cent 

Bank alert message– 52 per cent 

Information about a purchase the recipient didn’t make – 37 per cent 

Netflix (or similar) subscription updates – 35 per cent 

Fake missed delivery, or delivery problem, notification – 29 per cent 

Amazon security alert, or notification messages regarding account updates – 27 per cent 

Fake missed delivery, or delivery problem, notification – 23 per cent 

Information about a purchase the recipient didn’t make – 24 per cent 

Sign-in and location verification messages – 24 per cent 

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