When most of us think of people getting tricked by internet scams we think of pensioners, but surprisingly those under 25 are more likely than any other age group to be tricked by cyber criminals. Around 50% of people under 25 have encountered an impersonation scam and worryingly over half of those contacted revealed personal information or made a payment as a result of a request made by scammers.

Despite This Most Under 25’s Are Confidant They Will Not Fall For Scams

When asked the majority of individuals under 25 were very confident that they would be able to spot an internet scam, this is a contributor to the success of the scam. Individuals under 25 may think that only their grandparent’s generation would fall for such scams, in reality, individuals from all age groups and backgrounds fall for internet scams. In the past couple of decades, the older generations have been provided with a near constant stream of information providing them with tips to avoid falling victim to a scam. This has resulted in more than 60% of older adults making efforts the check the legitimacy of the source of a request asking for personal information or payment, however this figure is much lower for those under 25 where only just over a quarter of those under 25’s check the validity of information requests.

Common Scams That Affect Those Under 25 And How To Avoid Them

• Cryptocurrency Scams: Cryptocurrency has become increasingly popular throughout the last couple of years, particularly amongst the younger generations. This is why it is important to ensure that you take extra care when making financial decisions. Before investing in a cryptocurrency first check if the cryptocurrency exchange you are trading on is reputable. Then make sure you do extensive research on cryptocurrency as a whole and the individual coins and projects that you are investing in. This enables you to make more informed decisions. You should also be very cautious of investments that offer low or no risk but high returns, this is more than likely a scam. Another consideration you need to make is where you get your information from, getting information from various different reputable sources increases the chances of that information being legitimate and trustworthy. If you have been a victim of a scam involving crypto you should contact a crypto recovery lawyer to maximise your chances of getting your money back.
• Impersonation Scams: Impersonation scams are where you get contacted by an individual who claims to work for a business or government entity, they will ask for personal information and may ask you to send them a payment; they may claim that you have an outstanding payment and it must be paid quickly otherwise you will incur more charges, increasingly the panic you feel which may cause you to just pay up. To avoid this type of scam you should avoid giving personal information to people contacting you out of the blue. Instead, you should politely hang up and contact the company in question on a legitimate contact phone number that can be found on their website.

Conclusion

It is important not to overestimate your capability to spot scams, as you should make a habit of researching different online scams from time to time. Continuing to learn about scams ensures that you keep up to date with scams that evolve and become more sophisticated over time.