Who do scammers target? The answer might surprise you—
General Newsletter: Read One Thing
Who do scammers target? The answer might surprise you—
October 21, 2024
Who do you think falls for financial scams? Perhaps you think of someone older, someone lonely, someone who isn’t financially literate or didn’t grow up with computers – someone very different from yourself. It’s true that the elderly are commonly targeted for scams; however, while stories abound of retirees who fall for seemingly-transparent romance scams (see this WSJ story of an older man who lost his entire retirement fund to a Chinese scam after bonding over oatmeal as a shared interest), other narratives show how supposedly-savvy Millennials wire their home down payment to a scammer who had hacked their realtor’s email months in advance and lurked to substitute wire instructions.
Some surprising statistics from the Better Business Bureau’s 2023 report on scams:
The 18 - 24 age group had the single-highest reported median dollar loss to a scam ($155) whereas the 55 - 65 age group had the lowest-reported median dollar loss ($91)
Note. From “2023 BBB SCAM TRACKER RISK REPORT”(p. 18), by BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust℠, pub. 2023
Younger and older groups are most susceptible to different types of scams: groups below 45 are most vulnerable to employment scams, whereas older groups are most susceptible to investment scams
Note. From “2023 BBB SCAM TRACKER RISK REPORT”(p. 19), by BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust℠, pub. 2023
While BBB doesn’t track children’s susceptibility to scams, they do report that 16% of parents claim their children younger than 18 have been targeted by online scams – an increase from 11% in 2022
Note. From “2023 BBB SCAM TRACKER RISK REPORT”(p. 19), by BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust℠, pub. 2023
Author: Caitlyn Driehorst
Date Published: 10/21/2024
Webinar - Scams! A Financial Advisor’s Analysis
Catfishing, pig butchering, invoice fraud: it’s no longer your grandmother’s Nigerian prince email forward. Frauds are increasingly sophisticated, and the impact on your finances – or those of your parents or grandparents – can be significant. Even tech-savvy Millennials have learned they accidentally wired their down payment funds to someone who silently hacked their realtor’s inbox months ago, or couldn’t distinguish between real and false blackmail threats.
Join financial advisor Hannah Farrow for an overview of common scam types, some common-sense measures that can protect your interests, and suggestions for how you can bring this touchy topic up with your parents and grandparents, without hurting their dignity.
