Slashdot Mirror


Millennials More Likely To Fall For Scams Than Baby Boomers (washingtonexaminer.com)

A new report from the Better Business Bureau suggests that millennials are now more likely to fall victim to a scam than Baby Boomers. Washington Examiner reports: The Better Business Bureau reports that 69 percent of scam victims are under the age of 45. Young adults heading off to college are especially gullible, the group says. "College students can be easy targets for scammers and identity thieves. They are old enough to have money, young enough to be vulnerable and are likely unsupervised as many are away from home for the first time," writes Heather Massey of the Better Business Bureau. Phishing scams now target cell phones as well as email and social media.

"Millennials spend a lot of time on Facebook or other social media sites, where they can target them with these messages," said Jim Hegarty, Better Business Bureau president and CEO. College students also use sensitive information frequently, like student IDs, Social Security numbers, and banking information.

1 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. Sheltered by MikeRT · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Millennials are also the first generation where bullshit like "I should be able to walk down the street naked and have nothing happen to me" is considered neither a joke nor a statement of "why yes, I am bat shit crazy, just wanted to get that out there while breaking the ice." Or girls just leaving their apartments unlocked and then wondering why they had problems with creeps.

    I'm an older Millennial, and I grew up in smaller towns in the South. When I went to college, I actually heard garbage like that from other Millennials. Coming from a law enforcement family in small southern towns, I was stunned at how so many of the middle and upper class Millennials acted like they were born last night in a cabbage patch.

    I mean, fuck me, if I had said "I should be able to walk anywhere at 2AM covered in bling and not be hurt" my dad would have looked outside and said "oh I'm sorry, did I miss the news cast where Jesus returned in triumph and put all of the evil in the world into Hell? No? Then use your damn head."