BBC Radio discussed the increased frequency of and risk factors for online scams during the COVID-19 pandemic with Stacey Wood, Molly Mason Jones Chair in Psychology and professor of psychology. . Wood told the BBC that fluctuations in mental health, social networks, and financial well-being are factors that increase the risk of susceptibility to fraud. “When we think about the pandemic, it really hit people on all three of these key vulnerabilities,” Wood said. She added that, while older adults who are successfully targeted by scams lose more money, younger and middle-aged adults are successfully targeted more frequently.