Recognize the warning signs and review tips to help Gen Z avoid these common scams:
Fake Employment and Investment Scams
Here is a common way scammers utilize employment tactics. Instead of being paid for the job, employees wind up paying their fake employer. Scammers reach out to people through social media, email, or text, telling them that they can have a low-effort job that pays a lot and can be done from home. Two common examples are “secret shopper” and “car wrapping” offers.
Similarly, fake investment opportunities are also driving younger generations into debt. With fake investment websites and applications available to help track cryptocurrency growth, many people are finding that they are getting scammed and are unable to take their invested money out of these apps.
Red Flags:
- You are sent a check and asked to return some via cash in the mail, wire, gift card or cashier’s check.
- You are offered a job for which you didn’t apply.
Tips:
- Steer clear of “get rich quick” schemes. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Slow down and do your research.
Phishing/Smishing
This frequent scheme is meant to trick you into providing personal information to scammers. They take advantage of human emotions to trigger a response such as offering a prize, threatening a late fee or demanding a password change due to fraudulent activity in your account.
Red Flags:
- When looking at a message, check for: threatening language, suspicious links or attachments, unrealistic promises, urgency to download an attachment or click a link.
- Urgent requests for sensitive information.
- Is a friend or other known contact asking you unexpectedly for money online – email, text, social media? Their account may have been taken over by a fraudster. Call to verify/notify them using a known phone number.
Tips:
- Make your accounts private. It may seem cool to have a large social media following now, but what good are 10,000 followers if 8,000 of them are strangers who may want to scam you?
- Hover over a link to reveal the URL, and if the name is unrelated to the topic or sounds suspicious, don’t click it. All it takes is one click. Be smart and aware of your choices on the internet!
Scholarship and
Financial Aid
Scams
Don't get swindled into malicious scholarship or other educational strategies. In this scenario, scammers create fake grant opportunities and ask for the applicant’s checking account information to deposit the money into their account. From here, the scammers can steal the applicant’s money and even their identity.
Red Flags:
- It costs money to apply.
- It is unrealistic. Government grants are rarely given to private citizens so it’s very unlikely that you stumble upon one on the internet.
Tips:
- Only use reliable resources to search for applications.
- Don’t trust any unfamiliar resources offering you money.
Student Debt Consolidation/Relief Scams
Be alert when it comes to your finances. In this method of deception, the approach is led by an individual or company that urges consumers in debt to take out a new loan to consolidate their debts and heal their finances. Rather than getting rid of their debts, these attackers are taking advantage of the vulnerable consumers and taking their money with no intention of helping them out of debt.
Red Flags:
- They are asking you to sign a long-term contract or pay a large fee up front.
- Allusion to politics (e.g., “President's Student Debt Relief”).
Tip:
- Ask for details and do your research on the individual or company.
Sources:
NBC New York: People 20 or younger have fallen for more online scams than any other age group | Aug 22, 2023
Cape Cod 5: Common Scams Targeting Gen Z – Red Flags & How to Avoid Them | June 20, 2022
