Young people will be more likely to be victims of online fraud than older people

When we think of a victim of an online fraud, an elderly woman appears in our imagination more often than a young person. This stereotype is far from true. According to a recent survey by the Federal Trade Commission, Internet fraudsters most often do not beat the elderly, but members of Generations Y and Z who are proficient in online knowledge.

Does that sound surprising?

If we think about it, not really. Those who were born before the age of the internet still find a healthy scepticism about online services. This suspicion comes in especially handy these days as we run into more and more cleverly conceived traps on the web. Young people who grew up in the online world have lost this kind of aloof attitude and are willing to give up without thinking e.g. their personal information.

Of course, fraudsters are aware of this. It is very difficult to trick a young person through telephone inquiries, unlike older ones. But that ratio is reversed when we look at email scams.