Men More Likely Than Women to Fall for Internet Fraud

Call it the battle of the sexes -- or maybe just the battle of the hapless victims.

According to a new report from Internet Crime Complaint Center, which has compiled data from more than 206,000 complaints in the U.S., men lost $1.67 to every dollar lost by women on online fraud last year.

The findings come just a week after a London study proved that women are four times more likely to give up their passwords for a bar of chocolate than men. (See Women Are Four Times More Likely to Give Up Passwords for Chocolate.)

The ICCC says that buying patterns and human nature play into the findings. Historically, men are more apt to purchase large-ticket items, so they spend (and lose) more online. But the study also found that that men are more likely to be fooled into fraudulent business investments and other high-priced schemes.

Investment fraud complaints, where the average loss is more than $3,500, were overwhelmingly submitted by men. Men also tend to be victims of check fraud (average loss: $3,000) and Nigerian letter fraud scams($2,000), the study says.

So which is worse? Giving up all of your work passwords for a Cadbury bar, or falling for the age-old Nigerian con?

It's your call.

— Tim Wilson, Site Editor, Dark Reading