I’m always looking out for my parents when it comes to scams, because older people tend to fall for more gimmicks. I’ve saved them a few times, which feels good. I would look out for my grandparents, too, but they passed away when
I was very little. Anyway, as it turns out, Michigan teens are falling for online scams more than their grandparents, according to a new study.
The study was conducted by SocialCatfish.com. It surrounds the State of Internet Scams 2022 using 2022 data from the FBI IC3 and FTC. “With Michigan teens back in school, parents and teachers should talk to them about online safety after a new study found tech-savvy teens are falling for online scams at a higher rate than seniors,” the study states. “The money lost by victims under 20 years old grew by 1125% over the last five years compared to 390% for seniors. Teens lost just $8.2 million in 2017 compared to $101.4 million last year.”
The study added that even with these findings, “Seniors remain by far the most victimized group overall losing $1.68 billion last year but the surge of Gen Z victims is alarming and speaks to the growing sophistication of scammers.”
Michigan is the No. 8 most-scammed state in the nation, according to the report, with 10,930 victims losing $184,860,704 in 2021.
The four most common scams that are targeting teens include the following according to SocialCatfish.com: sextorion; student loan forgiveness; online gaming; and talent scout. Just be careful of any unsolicited offers, no matter how flattering or real-sounding, since these activities are certainly on the rise.