Expert advice for young adults to protect themselves from scams
Employment scams cost young adults the most with a typical loss of $1,819 per victim
(InvestigateTV) — From fake checks to cryptocurrency, a recent Better Business Bureau (BBB) report showed that young adults are losing more money to scams.
Melanie McGovern with the BBB said young people who grew up with the internet tend to be less skeptical of online activity than older generations.
The report revealed that about 43% of employment scams reported by 18 to 24 year olds mentioned fake checks. In this con, scammers often ask their targets to deposit a check and transfer funds to another person or account. By the time the person realizes the check is fake it’s too late and their money is gone.
“They might not know what a check is or how it works or how much information is on a check that could get people into trouble, that all routing numbers are the same for the bank,” McGovern said. “We had a report once of a person who said that the check was emailed to them! Checks are not emailed! Checks need to be physically in your hand! So, again, having those conversations about payment methods with younger adults is really important.
In addition to fake check scams, reshipping schemes also topped the list. According to the report, about 19% of employment scam reports from victims between 18 and 24 years old involved inspecting or reshipping packages. Scammers ask their targets to receive and reship products, sometimes illegally.
“You know, they’ll do a couple of jobs for the scammer, get paid a little bit, keep doing these reshipping jobs and then all of a sudden they’re not getting paid anymore,” McGovern explained. “And in some cases, what they’re reshipping could be stolen goods.”
Cryptocurrency and investment scams with young adults are also on the rise.
“We know a lot of people get confused about how does crypto work,” said McGovern. “So, if you get an investment opportunity, from a friend on social media, reach out to that friend off that platform and say hey, is this really you? Did this really work? It goes back to if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”
The BBB has additional information and resources to help young adults avoid scams.
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