Recent study by Equifax found that 50 percent of suspect and highly suspect credit application frauds in Canada in 2015 were against Millennials.
Every time we hear of a new financial scam we assume the victims are probably old people whose technological innocence the swindlers took advantage of.
However, a recent study found that Millennials are duped more than senior citizens. Ratings agency Equifax Inc, which made the survey, found that 50 percent of suspect and highly suspect credit application frauds in Canada in 2015 were against Millennials. Millennials also known as Generation Y are typically between 16 and 36 years of age.
The second most duped group at 29 percent was the Generation X, which refers to people between the ages 36 and 56. Baby boomers came next at 17 percent.
The seniors also known as the Silent Generation, those born between 1925 and 1944, only account for three per cent of victims.
Ratings agency Equifax gets about 15 million credit applications a year in Canada and about one per cent are highly suspect or suspect fraud attempts.
Millennials share more information online than others, John Russo, chief privacy officer for Equifax Canada said in a recent interview. “They are the more sharing, less caring generation,” he said.
The report also said that 53 per cent of Canadians have been the victim of some type of financial fraud and that the younger population appeared more vulnerable. 45 percent of seniors aged 65 and above said they have been the victims of some type of fraud while 58 percent of people in the 35-44 age groups said they have been victims.
Younger people also believe that they would not fall for scams but in reality they fall for phishing scams which pretend to be trusted entities.
In app purchases and clickbait emails remain a popular way to dupe millennials. Another false belief among millennials is that since they have lesser money, criminals would not be interested in spamming them. The survey found 39 per cent of Millennials think they don’t have enough money to attract fraudsters, which compares with 29 per cent of Canadians 45 and older.
The moral of the survey seems to be that younger people should be more cautious while divulging financial details online.
