These are the 8 biggest scams people are most likely to fall for online

Of the respondents who reported phishing scams, 18% said they engaged and just 4% said they lost money.

"Phishing" is a catch-all term used to describe scammers who pretend to be a trusted person, like a banker, service provider, or mortgage company, in order to trick victims into sharing private information that can be used against them.

Despite their low rate of success, phishing scams were also among the most frequently reported types of scams, the study found.

Similar to fake tax collection, this scam hinges on grifters pretending to be debt collectors and harassing victims to pay debts that they don't actually owe.

However, this approach was significantly more effective at fooling people than fake tax collection scams. According to the study, 38% of respondents who reported debt collection scams engaged with scammers, and 12% lost money as a result.

In this scam, grifters trick victims into believing they have won a sweepstakes or lottery but must first pay a fee up front in order to claim their prize.

This method has relatively high rates of successfully fleecing people: 59% of respondents who reported encountering phony sweepstakes engaged with scammers, and 15% lost money.

According to the authors of the study, this scam disproportionately impacts people who report living with financial insecurity.

Of the respondents who reported scams involving fake checks or money orders, 64% engaged and 22% lost money.

This convoluted scheme relies on scammers sending victims a fake check, getting them to deposit it, and then asking for some of the "money" back via wire transfer due to a supposed overpayment — hoping that banks don't notice the check is fake until it's too late.

In this scam, grifters pose as potential employers and fool victims into thinking they're being offered a job or considered for a position. From there, they trick victims into sending money to be spent on "training" or "equipment," or carry out a fake check scam using a bogus paycheck.

This scam was one of the most successful at getting victims to engage. Of the respondents who reported employment scams, 81% engaged with scammers and 25% lost money

Ironically, tech support scams typically take the form of an advertisement, email, or pop-up that warns users their computer may be infected with a bug or virus. Once users engage, scammers then pretend to be an IT professional and badger victims to hand over money in exchange for phony tech support.

While not as many users engage with this scam as with employment scams, it has a high success rate at getting victims to spend money. Of respondents who reported tech support scams, 64% engaged and 32% lost money.

Online purchase scams were among the most highly reported and successful scams documented by the study, with 84% of respondents who reported online purchase scams engaging with them and 47% losing money as a result.

According to the study, these scams proliferate on websites like Craigslist, eBay, Kjiji, and other websites that directly connect sellers and buyers, and can take many forms.

On the most basic level, scammers list items, collect payment from buyers, and then never ship the goods. Conversely, scammers will sometimes pay for items with a bogus check in order to ask for a refund for "accidentally" overpaying.