Scammers are preying on vulnerable young people affected by the rising cost of living. Fall out from the Covid-19 pandemic and ever increasing use of social media are also helping make younger adults more at risk when it comes to being tricked out of their cash.
And while fraudsters can target anyone, of any age, there are some scams where younger people may be particularly at risk. Sharon Davies, CEO of education charity Young Enterprise (young-enterprise.org.uk), says: “The combined effect of a cost-of-living crisis, Covid fall-out and increased social media use, leaves young people vulnerable to online scams.”
Bogus ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes may involve cryptocurrencies and come with fake celebrity endorsements. Ms Davies adds: “One common scam is fake brand collaboration requests, from people who appear to be working on behalf of labels offering paid work.” Such scams are designed to trick you into buying products that don’t exist, she says.
