Scammers looking for money and credit card information are targeting more young people on social media.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, online shopping is the most common type of fraud, and scams frequently begin on social media. Last year, reported losses from social-media fraud totaled more than $1.2 billion, up from $42 million in 2017. According to the FTC, social media is by far the most common starting point for fraud among adults aged 18 to 29: nearly 40% of the fraud loss reported by this age group in 2021 originated on a social-media site.
“Gen Z has grown up with a phone or an iPad in their hands,” said Christine Halvorsen, managing director at the risk and compliance consulting firm Protiviti. “They’re very comfortable buying things online, and they’re very trusting of that.”
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The amount of money lost to scams by younger people is much lower than it is for older adults, who are more likely to fall for phone scams involving tech support, sweepstakes, or people posing as friends and relatives. According to the FTC, the median individual fraud loss reported by people aged 18 to 59 in 2021 will be $500. It was $1,500 for those aged 80 and up.
While the dollar amounts aren’t huge, experts who study online fraud say there’s usually a larger scheme at work. Scammers who place ads on social media, according to Halvorsen, are usually part of an organised criminal enterprise that is more interested in stealing data than making money from small purchases. Scammers frequently use shoppers’ credit card information to purchase gift cards or cryptocurrency; alternatively, they sell consumers’ credit card numbers, names, and addresses.
