Anyone can get scammed online, including the generation of Americans that grew up with the internet.

If you’re part of Generation Z — that is, born sometime between the late 1990s and early 2010s — you or one of your friends may have been the target or victim of an online scam. In fact, according to a recent Deloitte survey, members of Gen Z fall for these scams and get hacked far more frequently than their grandparents do.

Compared to older generations, younger generations have reported higher rates of victimization in phishing, identity theft, romance scams, and cyberbullying. The Deloitte survey shows that Gen Z Americans were three times more likely to get caught up in an online scam than boomers were (16 percent and 5 percent, respectively). Compared to boomers, Gen Z was also twice as likely to have a social media account hacked (17 percent and 8 percent). Fourteen percent of Gen Z-ers surveyed said they’d had their location information misused, more than any other generation. The cost of falling for those scams may also be surging for younger people: Social Catfish’s 2023 report on online scams found that online scam victims under 20 years old lost an estimated $8.2 million in 2017. In 2022, they lost $210 million.

  • ImplyingImplications
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    1 year ago

    I’ve heard romance scams are on the rise again due to the prevalence of online dating. If the hot girl you matched with starts asking you for money, or nudes (for extortion), or your mother’s maiden name (for identity theft), she might not be the person you expect!

    • PickTheStick@ttrpg.network
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      1 year ago

      That’s the big one with Gen Z that I know of. I can think of several that I know that fell for it while 16-22, but none that fell prey to the typical ones about your SSN or buying gift cards.

    • Krachsterben@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      or nudes (for extortion)

      This one is so brutal and seriously fucked up.

      Back in the day it was mostly just the good old story of the Nigerian prince wanting you to inherit his millions :(

      Scammers used to be more wholesome and creative for real