If you have ever been targeted by a scammer, you will likely have been comforted by people telling you it can happen to anyone.

One in five people have been a victim and Britons have lost almost £2,000 per scam, data from digital bank Monzo reveals.

But while it's true that scammers are not picky about who they defraud, there are certain attributes that could make you more likely to be targeted.

This is based on data collected by banks about those people who have already been victims.

We reveal the age, location and job that those targeted by scammers are most likely to have, and even what time of day people most commonly fall victim. 

Wednesday at 2pm is scam o'clock

Bands of crooks gear up to target unassuming people at times when they think they will be most likely to pick up the phone and be caught unawares.

You can be scammed around the clock, but 2pm on a Wednesday has been identified as the time and day when criminals are most likely to try to defraud people out of money, the research from Monzo reveals.

Two in the afternoon is a time of day when you're likely to pick up the phone but may also be distracted, busy or in the middle of the working day.

Richard Bromley, Monzo's head of fraud says: 'During the afternoon there is an expectation that people will be able to pick up the phone, as they have got things like the school run out of the way and may just be coming back from lunch.'

On average, it takes people 20 hours to realise they have been scammed, he added.

Technology and engineering workers targeted

Anyone can be targeted by scammers, no matter which profession they work in.

But those who work in the technology or engineering sectors were most likely to be affected by scams last year, according to Monzo.

A fifth of those who reported having been targeted by scammers worked in technology or engineering.

This may seem surprising given these people are likely to be tech-savvy, but that can be the very reason they are targeted. 

Richard Bromley explains: 'Those working in technology may be more likely to trust online channels, so it is more likely that these people may engage with social media.'

Around 70 per cent of all Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud - where a scammer tricks you into transferring them money - now originates on social media platforms such as Meta -owned Facebook.  

Those working in banking also reported higher frequencies of being targeted by scammers as well as those in healthcare, both at 13 per cent.

> Read more: The best bank accounts 

Younger people lose larger amounts

Younger generations may be more likely to be targeted by scammers than older generations.

Against popular belief, baby boomers may be more scam savvy than younger generations.

Three quarters of those aged 55 and over have been scammed only once, while 45 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 have been scammed more than once says Monzo.

Younger people also tend to lose bigger sums of money to fraud than their older counterparts.

On average, those between the ages of 25 to 34 have lost £2,118 to scams in the past year, in comparison to those aged 55 and over, who have lost £1,566.

Richard Bromley says this is because scammers target different age demographics with different types of scams.

Young to middle-aged people may be losing higher amounts of money to fraud because they are being targeted in sophisticated investment scams, which encourage them to keep sending more cash.

Whereas older people are more likely to be targeted by scammers pretending to be family or friends, where asking for too much money might raise suspicions.  

So it may not be so much the age of people that makes them likely to lose money to a scam, but the type of scam.

Matt Hepburn, fraud spokesman at TSB says: Purchase fraud is a massive driver of fraud in younger people, while investment fraud sees larger losses middle aged people. Romance scams see older people losing money.'

'Impersonation fraud also sees a higher rate of scam cases for older people - people of a certain generation may be more trusting of a bank teller, or HM Revenue and Customs worker.'

However, 'there is no one age demographic that is most likely to be affected by fraud.' Bromley adds.

Where are you most likely to be scammed?

If you are based in Surrey, Essex, Kent, Somerset or West Sussex you may need to be on your guard.

These areas saw the most money wiped by criminals over the summer, with more than £2.85million stolen by fraudsters according to Santander.

Surrey saw the biggest jump in scams with the amount of money stolen by scammers up 17 per cent, with £1million stolen between July and September this year compared to April and June according to the high street giant.

Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander said: 'Being scammed remains a postcode lottery, and while there is a clear trend showing that some counties are currently being hit harder than others, scammers don't care where you live.'

A quarter of scams happen while people surveyed were scrolling on social media, according to Monzo. People tend to scroll in the evenings when they have come home from work.