Cybercrime Victimization Among Young Adult Males Aged 18–20: A Post-Pandemic Analysis of Converging Risk Factors

Jul 16, 2026

Cybercrime victimization among young adult males aged 18–20 is examined as an urgent post-pandemic public safety issue. Using FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and FTC Consumer Sentinel Network reports from 2022–2024 and ENISA cybersecurity threat intelligence, the study analyzes a distinct risk sub-cohort and integrates criminological, neurological, and behavioral evidence. Results highlight a 49.7% increase in reported losses for ages 20–29 (2023–2024) and identify key typologies including financial sextortion, phishing, task scams, in-game currency fraud, and dark web grooming. The work informs targeted awareness, digital literacy, and policy interventions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

Introduction

Literature Review

Demographic Predictors of Cybercrime Victimization

Theoretical Framework

Methodology

Findings

Discussion

Prevention and Policy Recommendations

Conclusion

Cybercrime Victimization Among Young Adult Males Aged 18–20: A Post-Pandemic Analysis of Converging Risk Factors arXiv :2607 .02530v1 [ cs .CY] 30 May 2026 Anveeksh Mahesh Rao Khoury College of Computer Sciences Northeastern University Boston, MA, USA [rao.anv@northeastern.edu](rao.anv@northeastern.edu)[ ](rao.anv@northeastern.edu)[ORCID: 0000-0005-4791-1789](ORCID: 0000-0005-4791-1789) Abstract—Cybercrime victimization among young adult males aged 18–20 has become an increasingly urgent public safety concern in the post-pandemic digital environment. From 2022 to 2024, individuals aged 20–29 submitted 191,787 complaints to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), reporting combined losses of more than $1.28 billion. Although this population represents a substantial share of cybercrime victims, the 18– 20 male sub-cohort remains insufficiently examined as a distinct demographic group within cybercrime victimization research. This study presents an original risk factor analysis and theoretical synthesis, representing the first integration of criminological, neurological, and behavioral evidence for this specific demographic sub-cohort. Drawing on FBI IC3 and FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data from 2022–2024 alongside European cybersecurity threat intelligence from ENISA, the study develops a unified risk profile centered on three intersecting vulnerability factors: a guardianship gap created by the transition into unsupervised digital independence, heightened behavioral exposure to online risk, and reduced impulse regulation associated with ongoing prefrontal cortex development. The findings show a 49.7% increase in reported losses among the 20–29 age group between 2023 and 2024 and identify financial sextortion, phishing, task scams, ingame currency fraud, and dark web grooming as major attack typologies exploiting this risk convergence. The study offers implications for targeted cybersecurity awareness campaigns, digital literacy education, and policy interventions designed for this high-risk demographic. Index Terms—cybercrime victimization, young adult males, routine activity theory, sextortion, phishing, prefrontal cortex, post-pandemic, risk factor analysis, digital guardianship, social engineering I. INTRODUCTION Cybercrime has become one of the most widespread and consequential threats affecting young adults in the postpandemic digital era. Between 2022 and 2024, individuals aged 20–29 filed 191,787 complaints with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), reporting cumulative financial losses exceeding $1.28 billion [3]–[5] . Although IC3 reporting groups victims into a broader 20–29 category, existing scholarship suggests that the 18–20 sub-cohort displays especially elevated behavioral risk patterns and vulnerability indicators [8], [9] . Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data further demonstrates that young adults aged 20–29 reported losing money in 44% of fraud cases, nearly twice the rate observed among older populations, highlighting the financial susceptibility of this group [6] . Gender is also a significant factor in cybercrime victimization among young adults. Nsi et al. [9] found that males were 1.70 times more likely than females to experience cybercrime victimization (OR = 1 .70, p = 0 .000), with particularly large gender gaps observed in Germany (8.9% male vs. 3.1% female) and the United Kingdom (8.8% male vs. 5.9% female) . Griffith et al. [8] further show that online gaming, dating application use, visits to sexually explicit websites, and public sharing of personal information increase exposure to motivated offenders. These behaviors align closely with attack types that disproportionately affect young men, including financial sextortion, phishing, task scams, in-game currency fraud, and online grooming [11] . The 18–20 age range represents a particularly acute period of vulnerability for three reasons. First, it marks the transition from supervised adolescence to indep

FAQs

Which cybercrime attack typologies are identified as major ways risk convergence is exploited?

Major typologies include financial sextortion, phishing, task scams, in-game currency fraud, and dark web grooming.

Jul 16, 2026

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