Why younger people are increasingly targeted by scammers
The stereotype of the fraud victim is outdated. Reported losses among adults under forty have risen sharply, and the reason is not naivety — it is exposure. Younger people transact, invest and socialise almost entirely through the channels fraudsters have learned to work best.
Familiarity is not protection
Growing up online produces speed and confidence rather than caution. Decisions are made in seconds inside apps that normalise instant payment, one-tap approval and trust in strangers with a well-built profile.
Where the approaches come from
The channel has moved from the phone to the feed.
- Investment and crypto “mentors” on social and messaging platforms
- Fake job offers and task-based work that require a deposit or your bank details
- Marketplace and ticket fraud with instant, irreversible payment
- Romance and long-term friendship approaches that end in an investment pitch
- Fake stores and influencer-promoted products that never ship
Financial pressure is the lever
Rising costs and stagnant wages make an offer of accelerated returns rational rather than absurd. Fraud narratives are built around exactly that pressure, and the proof offered — screenshots, group chats, testimonials — is trivial to fabricate.
Practical defences
Verify identities outside the platform where you met, refuse any opportunity that requires recruitment or an upfront deposit, keep investment accounts separate from day-to-day banking, and treat urgency itself as the warning sign. Never accept money into your account for someone else — that makes you a money mule, with legal consequences.
Reporting is not an admission of fault
Shame is the reason most of these losses are never reported, and silence is what keeps the same operations running. Documenting what happened, quickly and factually, is the single most useful thing a victim can do.
Talk to our case assessment team
If you have lost funds to investment fraud, a crypto scam or a recovery scam, our team can review the details, structure your evidence and explain which routes are still open to you.
Report your case