Millennials, Gen-Z worry more about fraud than social media hacking, says American Express

Amex's latest report shows that Millennials and Gen-Z are more concerned about someone making fraudulent charges on their bank account than hacking into their social media.

American Express, a multinational financial corporation, surveyed 2,000 US consumers to illuminate how Millennial and Gen-Z consumers in the US perceive their risk of experiencing fraud and their ability to catch the activity.

With the ongoing surge in digital transactions and the prevalence of online services, younger generations, notably Millennials and Gen-Z, are confronted with a complex landscape fraught with progressively sophisticated fraud threats.

The findings of the report indicate that Millennials and Gen-Z are concerned about the risk of experiencing fraud, but are confident in their ability to spot the activity.

69% of US Millennial and Gen-Z respondents agreed that they are more worried about someone making fraudulent charges on their bank account than someone hacking their social media. In comparison, 81% of US GenXers and Baby Boomers are more worried about fraudulent transactions than compromised social accounts.

According to the survey’s findings, 70% of US Millennial and Gen-Z respondents are concerned about experiencing fraudulent activity on their credit card or bank account, in comparison to 75% of GenXers and Baby Boomers.

However, 89% of the same respondents claimed that they are confident they are able to spot fraudulent charges on their credit card or bank account, while 91% of GenXers and Baby Boomers said the same.

Previous reports from The Federal Trade Commission have found that younger generations are 34% more likely to report losing money to fraud compared to adults over the age of 60.

American Express brings attention to a potential contradiction between the confidence of Millennials and Gen-Z in detecting fraudulent activity and the probability of these demographic groups becoming victims of fraud.

“The findings highlight the importance of continued fraud prevention education for these generations with increasing spending power, especially as the holidays approach when shopping and fraud levels typically increase,” the report concludes.