If you've ever wondered why your parents or grandparents always seem to be inundated with scams and phishing emails, a new study may offer a clue.

According to Google and Stanford University, researchers who analyzed more than 1 billion phishing and malware emails found that certain demographics and geographies were the primary targets.

Phishing is when cybercriminals target people through email, phone calls, and text messages in an attempt to "phish" them for personal information such as credit card or social security numbers.

Other scams may involve an email or instant message promising a new iPad for completing a survey, followed by a credit card payment for shipping and handling. These are clearly scams.

Google and Stanford University found that individuals whose email accounts were exposed to the Internet through a data breach experienced a dramatic increase in phishing attempts.

In terms of volume of phishing e-mails, U.S. residents are the most prolific, accounting for 42% of all attacks. The UK comes in second, with 1 in 10 targeted. Japan ranks third with one in every 20 emails. Oddly enough, Australia had the highest number of attacks per capita.

English remains the language used for phishing scams. Even then, criminals are localizing their efforts. In Japan, 78% of attacks were in Japanese, and in Brazil, 66% were in Portuguese.

Age is another factor: the 55-64 age group is 1.64 times more likely to be attacked compared to the 18-24 age group.

Mobile-only users were less likely to be targeted, 20% less likely than multi-device users. According to Google and Stanford University, this could be attributed to socioeconomic factors, with phishers targeting those perceived to be more affluent.

Google claims that its Gmail service prevents 99% of phishing attempts from reaching users. Still, cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to circumvent Google's protections.

Google recommends that users use its Security Check feature to check their Google accounts for vulnerabilities.