The Generation That's Least Likely To Report Transaction Fraud

The amount of money that Americans have lost to fraud is terrifying. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, losses skyrocketed to $47 billion in 2024; in 2023, they had totaled $43 billion. The number of victims also rose from 2023 to 2024 by one million to 40 million. In 70% of the situations, people who lost money had been deceived into giving out their email addresses (43%), phone numbers (38%), or banking details (28%) — and hackers can use this information to get into bank accounts and steal money. When bad actors take over someone else's account, this has involved checking accounts 39% of the time, which indicates a need for account holders to digitally track their finances to monitor for fraudulent transactions. Overall, 56% of Americans do so at least once a day, with 18% checking them numerous times daily, a report from financial data management company MX revealed. This doesn't happen equally across generations, though; when looking at Baby Boomers, who check a bit less often, 45% of them monitor their bank accounts at least daily, 

Across generations, 12% of fraud victims didn't report the fraud they'd discovered. With Baby Boomers, only 7% of them report unfamiliar transactions, making them the least likely generation to make a report. Reasons why people, in general, don't report fraud include these two: 22% didn't know how to file a report and 22% didn't believe that, if they did report the fraud, anything could be done about the loss.

Ironically, despite being the lowest fraud-reporting generation, according to CNBC, Boomers rise to the top of generations that worry about financial fraud. Citing a Bank of America Better Money Habits survey, Baby Boomers tied in the top worry spot with Gen X at 27%. Meanwhile, only 15% of Gen Z worry about financial fraud along with 20% of Millennials. To address this worry and find solutions, Boomers can first consider the types of money scams that target senior citizens: robocalls, for example, that aim to capture the sound of a person saying "yes" so that hackers can later use this audio clip for nefarious means; calls that purport to be from grandchildren in distress that lead to requests for money transfers; fraudulent investment schemes; and so forth. By educating themselves on how criminals manage these scams, Boomers can be better prepared not to get caught in their snares. 

Boomers may also want to read up on how banks capture crooks with shady financial practices, and ask their bank about how to report fraud if it occurs. That way, if it happens, they'll already know procedures. It may also help to get educated on how to report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission, sharing how much money was sent/lost, methods of doing so, and to whom it was sent — without sharing information like account numbers, Social Security, driver's license numbers, and date of birth to protect their privacy. Knowledge is power!