Online Safety Statistics

The digital landscape continues its astonishing expansion: over 5.56 billion people, or 67.9% of the global population, were using the internet at the start of 2025. And yet, as internet use grows, so do concerns about online safety, online abuse, data security, and digital well-being. According to online safety statistics, 66% of internet users worldwide were exposed to at least one online risk over the last year. 

In this article, we dive deep into the most up-to-date data, exploring the scale of the problem, the key areas of risk for both adults and children, and what legal remedies are available for victims of online harm.

What Are the Main Concerns Around Internet Safety?

The growth of the internet and digital services has brought enormous opportunities, but it has also created widespread exposure to online harm. From stolen identities to global cybercrime operations, internet users across all age groups face serious threats to privacy, financial stability, and personal safety. Below are the key areas of concern that dominate modern discussions on internet safety.

Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the most prevalent and costly forms of online abuse in the digital world. It occurs when criminals misuse personal data, such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, or bank details, to open fraudulent accounts or steal money.

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received 2.6 million reports of identity theft, contributing to $12.5 billion in total losses from all forms of digital fraud across the United States. Moreover, the report showed a 25% year-over-year rise in compromised identity records, reflecting the growing scale of breaches that expose users’ personal information online.

The Entrust 2025 Fraud Report found that document forgeries increased by 244%, while deepfakes were attempted once every five minutes, illustrating how generative AI tools are accelerating new identity-fraud techniques. Globally, identity-fraud incidents have grown at about 12 % annually since 2020.

A nationwide survey in 2024 revealed that 84% of consumers consider identity theft their top online safety concern, while 80% fear having their credit-card data stolen. As people increasingly share and store personal information across search engines, digital platforms, and social media accounts, the need to monitor financial activity, secure passwords, and stay alert to phishing messages has never been more critical to protecting one’s online identity.

Data Breaches

Data breaches represent one of the most serious risks to internet safety today, exposing vast quantities of personal and corporate data that can later be sold, leaked, or used in further cybercrime.

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reported 3,158 publicly disclosed breaches in 2024, nearly matching the previous year’s record but leading to an unprecedented 1.35 billion victim notices, a 211% increase over 2023, mostly due to five “mega-breaches” that accounted for at least 100 million breach notices. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report from 2024 calculated the global average cost of a breach at $4.88 million, a 10 % year-over-year rise.

Worldwide cybercrime losses are forecast to reach $1 trillion per month by 2031, up from this amount per year in 2020, according to industry analyses. Nearly half (46%) of all breaches in 2024 exposed personally identifiable information (PII), including phone numbers, home addresses, and email credentials. Meanwhile, email continues to be a key weak point: Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 61% of breaches involved compromised emails, 39% included stolen phone numbers, and 28% involved password exposure.

In the healthcare sector alone, 276.7 million patient records were compromised in 2024, an average of 758,000 per day, highlighting the vulnerability of sensitive data held by hospitals and insurance providers. These numbers demonstrate that breaches have evolved from isolated hacks into systemic global threats, demanding better corporate transparency, improvements in knowledge about security, and public awareness to protect consumers’ data and digital safety.

Online Scams and Financial Fraud

As more people shop, bank, and communicate online, financial fraud and online scams have grown into a global crisis. Cybercriminals increasingly exploit digital communication tools, fake investment websites, and fraudulent apps to deceive users and steal money.

In 2024, AARP and Javelin Strategy & Research estimated $47 billion in total identity-fraud and online-scam losses nationwide. Furthermore, adults in their 70s reported a median fraud loss of $1,000, more than double the $417 median loss reported by adults in their 20s.

Phishing remains the most common method of attack, linked to 36 % of all breaches, while social-engineering schemes using fake customer-service messages or job offers continue to spread rapidly. Businesses are also major targets: 79% of organizations experienced payment-fraud attempts in 2024, and 63% faced business-email-compromise (BEC) attacks.

Globally, Fraud.com projects financial-fraud costs could reach $5.4 trillion annually, encompassing scams, synthetic identities, and online-payment manipulation. In the U.K., “remote-purchase” fraud rose to 2.6 million cases and over £1.2 billion in losses in 2024.

These findings show that financial crimes now span every platform, from fake investment apps to phishing emails, and affect both consumers and corporations. As attackers often gain access through computers connected to unsecured Wi-Fi networks, awareness, monitoring, and timely reporting are essential to minimize losses and protect users’ online accounts and digital resources.

Sex Trafficking and Online Abuse

Beyond economic crimes, online abuse and the use of the internet to facilitate sex trafficking have become major concerns for global law enforcement and human rights agencies. Traffickers increasingly exploit social media platforms, online chat apps, and dating sites to identify, recruit, and control victims, turning online spaces into digital gateways for real-world exploitation.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported a 25% global rise in detected trafficking victims, with growing evidence that many cases now involve online contact, blackmail, or coercion through digital means. Similarly, the INTERPOL 2025 Crime Trend Update found that victims from 66 countries had been trafficked into online scam centers (74% in Southeast Asia) and that 80% of facilitators were men, 61% of whom were aged 20–39.

Civil sex trafficking lawsuits have increasingly been filed against hotels, websites, and social-media companies accused of enabling or ignoring trafficking activity online. These legal actions demonstrate how digital platforms can face liability when their systems are used to promote sexual exploitation, especially when victims met online with their traffickers or when warning reports went unheeded.

The spread of online exploitation underscores how internet misuse and internet violence often intersect with broader organized crime networks and serious forms of child abuse that extend across borders. Strengthening digital accountability, improving cross-border investigation, and promoting legal remedies for survivors are crucial steps toward a safer online world.

Summary

Across every major category: identity theft, data breaches, online scams, and online exploitation, the statistics show that online risks continue to escalate worldwide. From compromised credentials to billion-dollar fraud operations, these threats affect ordinary internet users, financial institutions, and global corporations alike.

Protecting internet safety in this environment requires constant vigilance, stronger cybersecurity practices, and clear legal frameworks to hold wrongdoers accountable. As billions of people now rely on digital platforms and connected services each day, safeguarding privacy and dignity online is not just a personal responsibility, but also a global imperative.

What Are the Main Concerns for Children Online?

The digital world offers children unprecedented access to learning, creativity, and communication. Yet, these same platforms expose them to serious risks, ranging from online child sexual misconduct to cyberbullying, online violence, and deteriorating mental health. 

As kids spend more time on social media platforms, video games, and online chat applications where they encounter content not suitable for them, the need to protect children’s online safety and digital welfare has become more urgent than ever.

Online Child Sexual Exploitation

Online child sexual exploitation remains one of the most severe threats facing children online. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) revealed that its CyberTipline received 20.5 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2024, representing 29.2 million individual incidents. 

Between 2024 and the second quarter of 2025, the number of online-enticement reports skyrocketed from 292,951 to 518,720, while complaints involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material exploded from 6,835 to 440,419.

Gaming and digital-interaction platforms, particularly those popular with minors, have faced mounting scrutiny. Roblox, one of the world’s most widely used social gaming environments, is currently the subject of multiple Roblox sexual exploitation lawsuits. 

These suits allege that the company failed to prevent predators from contacting and coercing minors through its in-game chat and messaging features.

In one case, a 10-year-old child was reportedly exploited by users offering the in-game currency “Robux” in exchange for explicit images. Additional claims filed in federal court argue that Roblox’s inadequate safety controls and lax monitoring contributed to instances of grooming and digital abuse.

The expansion of digital communication tools has created more pathways for offenders to contact potential victims. Apps and social media platforms designed for chatting or live streaming often allow strangers to talk to children directly, leading to exploitation that begins with casual conversation but escalates into online sexual abuse, coercion, and blackmail.

Thanks to increased public awareness and rapid response from law enforcement, 29,568 of children found through online tracking efforts have been safely reunited with their families each year, according to recovery reports collected by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

These patterns demonstrate how urgent it is to protect children from predatory contact and strengthen platform accountability across the entire digital ecosystem.

Cyberbullying and Online Harassment

Cyberbullying and digital harassment have become pervasive forms of internet violence affecting children’s emotional and psychological health. The Pew Research Center found that 46% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 experienced at least one form of cyberbullying, including name-calling, rumor-spreading, or unwanted image sharing.

Globally, the problem mirrors these trends. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe review, one in six people (school-aged children), or around 16%, reported being cyberbullied, with rising rates for both boys (from 12% to 15%) and girls (from 13% to 16%) between 2018 and 2022.

The psychological toll is clear. Studies in BMC Psychiatry show that adolescents who were bullied online were significantly more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts than those who were not victimized. 

Moreover, the CDC found that 95% of high-school-aged youths use at least one social media platform, and heavy social-media use correlates with poorer mental-health outcomes and increased risk of electronic victimization.

As more children and teens use apps, online chat systems, and digital platforms to communicate, the constant connectivity means cyber abuse can follow them home, turning what used to be a temporary form of bullying into an around-the-clock threat to self-esteem, safety, and emotional stability.

Violence and Mental Health Concerns

Beyond direct cyber abuse, many young users face broader threats to their safety from exposure to violent, harmful, or addictive online content. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports that two-thirds of teens aged 13–17 use social media daily and nearly one-third say they are online “almost constantly.” Prolonged screen time and unfiltered access to graphic or distressing material can have measurable consequences on children’s mental health and sleep patterns.

Research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) links frequent online exposure to higher rates of anxiety, loneliness, and depression among teenagers, particularly when they encounter violent, sexual, or self-destructive imagery. 

Similarly, a meta-analysis published on PubMed Central found that internet addiction, bullying, and exposure to aggressive or exploitative content were strongly correlated with suicidal ideation and self-harm among adolescents.

These findings reinforce the importance of monitoring, parental guidance, and digital-literacy education to help children navigate internet violence and manage the emotional effects of constant digital exposure. 

By teaching healthy technology habits and limiting access to harmful or age-inappropriate websites, parents, educators, and policymakers can better safeguard children’s mental and emotional health in an increasingly connected world.

What Legal Options Do Victims of Online Harm Have

Victims of online harm, including harassment, stalking, financial scams, or online sexual abuse, have more legal protection today than ever before. Whether the harm happened on social media platforms, gaming sites, or messaging applications, there are clear steps victims can take to protect their rights, gather evidence, and pursue justice.

Documenting Online Evidence

The first step is to preserve all digital evidence. Take screenshots of messages, posts, and images before they’re deleted, and save links, emails, or chat logs that show the abuse. Keep copies of everything, because even deleted content can be recovered later. These records are essential when reporting to authorities or working with an attorney to build a civil claim.

Reporting to Law Enforcement and Platforms

Victims should immediately report online abuse to both law enforcement and the platform where it occurred. Most digital platforms and applications, including social media, gaming, and messaging services, allow users to flag harassment, impersonation, and sexual misconduct. 

In cases of online violence or sexual misconduct, police and federal agencies can open criminal investigations and coordinate with internet service providers to trace perpetrators. Reporting helps stop further abuse and creates an official record for legal action.

Filing Civil Lawsuits

Beyond criminal investigations, victims can pursue civil lawsuits to recover damages for emotional distress, loss of privacy, or reputational harm. Survivors of online sexual exploitation and trafficking can also file suits under federal and state laws, holding offenders and negligent companies accountable when their platforms are used for abuse. 

Victims may seek compensation for emotional trauma, therapy costs, and other financial losses caused by the misconduct.

Consulting an Attorney

An experienced online safety attorney can guide victims through the process, from preserving evidence to filing in court. Legal professionals can help identify all responsible parties, whether individuals, employers, or corporations, who allowed the abuse to occur. In sensitive cases, victims can file anonymously under “Jane Doe” or “John Doe” to protect their privacy while pursuing justice.

How Injury Lawyer Team Can Help

At Injury Lawyer Team, we stand with victims of online sexual abuse, harassment, and digital exploitation. Our attorneys handle complex sexual abuse and exploitation lawsuits involving negligent platforms, hotels, and technology companies that fail to protect users from harm.

We help clients:

• Gather and preserve online evidence for civil or criminal cases.
• Work with investigators to trace anonymous users and remove harmful content.
• File lawsuits against offenders and corporations that enabled online violence or abuse.
• Protect your identity and ensure sensitive information remains confidential.

Our firm operates on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no upfront costs and no attorney’s fees unless we win your case. Every survivor deserves a chance to reclaim their dignity and move forward.

Contact Injury Lawyer Team today for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, explain your rights, and help you pursue justice for the harm you endured online.