Are you a millennial? You are more likely to fall for scam than older generations. At least that’s what the FTC has found.
Lots of people fall for scams. But it’s different with millennials. Even though they are a generation of digital natives who grew up with internet and smart devices, it doesn’t mean millennials are any smarter when it comes to avoiding scams.
On the contrary. According to the Federal Trade Commission, millennials are 25% more likely to report losing money to fraud than other adults (age 40 and over). The FTC has been seeing this trend for several years. In 2018, 43% of people in their twenties reported a loss to fraud, while only 15% of people in their seventies did.
However, the amount of money millennials report losing is about $400 which is much lower than what other age groups report.
Millennials vs. internet
The way scammers reach millennials also differs. Millennials are 77% more likely than other age groups to say they lost money to a scam that started with an email. By contrast, they are slightly less likely to report losing money to scams that started with a phone call.
The reason is simple. It’s because a lot of these scams have to do with millennials’ willingness to share personal details online.
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