GEN Z AND MILLENNIALS ARE LESS WORRIED ABOUT FRAUD THAN OLDER GENERATIONS

Younger adults are less worried about financial fraud than are older generations, a recent study found.

Only 15% of Gen Z and 20% of millennials are concerned about falling victim to stolen money or assets through deceptive tactics, according to a Bank of America Better Money Habits survey of 1,000 respondents. By comparison, about 27% of Gen X and 27% of baby boomers feel at risk of fraud.

“Younger generations are still navigating financial literacy and [are] still understanding the pitfalls” of fraud, said Jennifer Ehresman, head of client protection for consumer and small business at Bank of America.

Younger cohorts also tend to believe they are less exposed to fraud thanks to the immediacy of online banking apps; the accessibility allows them to check account transactions in real time, Ehresman said.

“They feel more connected in the flow of financials,” she added.

However, believing they can spot and report fraud quickly may offer a false sense of security.

It’s true that older adults tend to have bigger account balances on the line. But that doesn’t mean younger generations can’t experience severe consequences, said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.

SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS ARE A PROBLEM FOR YOUNGER ADULTS

Fraudsters are using younger adults’ online presence to their advantage. Consumers lost about $2.7 billion to scams on social media, far higher than any other method of contact, the Federal Trade Commission reported last year. Those losses are more common for younger generations.

FRAUD ISN’T ALWAYS ‘FIXED IN AN AFTERNOON’

The amount of time it takes to recover from a scam will depend on the information compromised.

For example, if a scammer obtained your credit card number and racked up charges, fixing the problem may take just a phone call where you report the issue, as credit cards have rigorous fraud protections.

However, if someone stole your Social Security number, that can have bigger ramifications that are harder to recover from. A criminal could use that information to open new credit cards or take out new loans in your name.