By Leonard Fischer
Gannett News Service

Older Americans are more likely to recognize spam and avoid its pitfalls, such as online fraud, says a new study.

But they're also the least likely demographic to use spam-blocking tools, says Applied Research, which surveyed 1,000 Internet users 18 and older for Symantec, a developer of security software.

Only 23 percent of those 65 or older say they have opened unsolicited e-mail. In contrast, about one-third of Americans 18 to 64 say they have opened spam.

"The online population for the senior demographic is growing faster than any other group, making them a very real target for spammers," says Matthew Moynahan, a Symantec vice president.

But seniors also are less likely to be fooled by phony spam offers. Only 13 percent say they've responded to offers they later discovered were fradulent. About 21 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they've been fooled by fradulent e-mail offers.

Los Angeles resident Ophelia Nodarse, 78, says the amount of time she spends deleting spam is cutting into her enjoyment of the Internet.

"It's a blatant invasion of privacy," she says.

Nodarse, who uses AOL, says she's aware that the online service has antispam tools, but she hasn't tried them because she hasn't had time to find out how they work and set them up.

Nordarse isn't alone. Only 47 percent of seniors say they use any spam-blocking tools, compared with about two-thirds of 18- to 64-year-olds.