Gen Z Is Surprisingly Likely to Fall for Text Scams

You’ve likely heard of scammers who have conned older people into giving them money or personal information. The frequency of such stories may suggest that it’s exclusively seniors who are falling for these tricks, but recent research indicates otherwise.    

1. Why Gen Z Is Vulnerable to Text Scams
2. Scam Texts Are Up Across the Board

Why Gen Z Is Vulnerable to Text Scams

The 2025 Consumer Cyber Readiness Report from Consumer Reports shows that Gen Z is falling for “record levels” of text scams. While text recipients ages 30 and older saw scam messages increase by 7 to 8 percent from last year, a younger age group—ages 18 to 29—saw an uptick of 27 percent. 

There are three main reasons why younger people are being targeted more by such scams—and why they’re often likely to fall for them. “First, texting is their primary communication channel, with hundreds of daily messages creating a perfect opening for scammers,” Jason Dorsey, president and lead Gen Z researcher at the Center for Generational Kinetics, told Consumer Reports.

They also tend to belong to large group messaging threads with unknown contacts—this makes it easier for Gen Z to mistake a scammer’s number for a friend’s. The last factor is the ease with which they exchange money through apps like Venmo. “For many, especially with small-dollar scams, the experience has become so common that it feels almost normal!” Dorsey said.

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Scam Texts Are Up Across the Board

While Gen Z has seen the greatest increase, text scams are on the rise for all age groups. Thirty percent of people who reported cyberattacks or digital scams said the fraudulent act started via a text or messaging app—that’s up 10 percent from the previous year. Additionally​​, Americans are the most common victims of scam attempts. They typically receive twice as many predatory calls and messages compared to residents of other countries, according to Talker Research. 

Regardless of your age, you can protect yourself from scams by learning to recognize the signs. Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Advice website to learn more.