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New Analysis Shows Adults Under 60 Report Losses to Online Shopping Scams, Investment Scams More Than Older Adults
FTC fraud report data shows large gaps between age groups
As families from all generations spend time shopping online this holiday season, a new FTC data analysis shows that there’s at least one thing that will unite Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers as they gather to exchange gifts.
The FTC’s latest Consumer Protection Data spotlight shows that consumers under the age of 60 are significantly more likely—86 percent—to report losing money to online shopping scams than older adults. According to the spotlight, based on data reported to the FTC for all of last year, consumers under 60 most often said those scams originated from posts on social media.
Unfortunately, online shopping is not the only scam where the post-Boomer generations found common ground. The spotlight also shows that adults under 60 are more than four times more likely than older adults to report losing money to an investment scam, and the majority of those losses happened in scams involving some form of cryptocurrency investments.
The full data spotlight is available at ftc.gov/dataspotlight. More information on how scams affect people older than 60 can be found in the FTC’s annual report to Congress on older adults.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.