When people get scammed, they trust Reddit for advice, Google says

When dealing with cybersecurity issues, millions of internet users turn to Reddit first, seeking advice from strangers on what just went wrong.

Reddit has the answers to everything. At least that's what the internet thinks. New research from University College London and Google shows that uncertainty drives internet users to trust strangers on Reddit for advice on how to deal with cybersecurity issues.

Researchers analyzed more than 1.5 billion Reddit posts from 2021 to 2024 and found that people are increasingly turning to the platform for advice.

The number of help-seeking posts has grown sharply by 66% over the last year of the dataset. According to the study, by the end of 2024, users were posting more than 100,000 help requests per month.

What are the main cybersecurity issues Redditors are trying to solve?

Scams were the most common concern among Reddit users, accounting for 28% of all posts. Many users arrive early, trying to figure out whether an email, text, job offer, or website is legitimate. Others show up after money or data is already gone, asking whether the damage can still be contained.

Problems with being locked out of accounts are a recurring issue, accounting for around 20% of help posts. Users are seeking help after being locked out of email, banking, or social media accounts and having difficulty regaining access.

Questions about privacy tools appear nearly as often as account problems. Users ask whether VPNs, adblockers, Tor, or browser settings actually protect them.

Beyond scams and logins, users also seek help with harassment, suspected compromise, data exposure, and unexplained platform actions like bans or frozen payments.

Harassment posts often involve stalking or abuse that crosses platforms. Others describe accounts or transactions disabled without warning or explanation.

Internet users are confused and annoyed

Scams or account compromise are not just technical problems. They intersect with emotional stress and confusion about the next steps.

To add a human dimension to their study, researchers also analyzed 28 possible emotions to determine the overall mood of those searching for help on Reddit.

Results showed that just six emotions accounted for 88% of posts. Most of the users were confused (32%) and annoyed (22%).

Fear (16%), anger (9%), curiosity (5%), and sadness (4%) were the other emotions present among Redditors. Beyond measuring volume, the findings highlight how ordinary users experience digital threats.

User emotions have broader implications for internet platforms and tool developers. If users increasingly seek help in public forums, it suggests that official support channels may not be meeting people’s needs effectively.

No single place to ask for help

Security questions are scattered across thousands of subreddits. Large general communities like r/techsupport and r/advice often act as first stops for users who don’t know where else to go. Platform-specific subreddits function as unofficial support forums, especially for social networks, payment apps, and exchanges.

Highly specialized subreddits also exist. Most of them are on specific topics like VPNs, antivirus tools, or sextortion. But most help-seeking posts don’t land there. More than 70% appear in communities where digital security isn’t the main focus at all.

“Our results underscore the brittleness of one-size-fits-all approaches to digital privacy, safety, and security advice. Users experience complex combinations of threats, platforms, mitigations, context, and emotions that shape their support needs,” the researchers explained in a paper.

The authors conclude that understanding help-seeking behavior at scale can inform better design of support resources, from more intuitive privacy controls to tools that guide users through complex security settings.

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