Cyber-Crime Prevention Strategy for Every Age Group

A hunter does not bring the same ammunition to every hunt. The right choice depends on the terrain, the target, and the risks involved. A one-size-fits-all approach can leave a hunter unprepared. Fraud prevention works much the same way. 

Scammers adjust their tactics to fit the people they hope to deceive, exploiting differences in life stage, technology habits, and financial circumstances. A romance scam may resonate with an isolated older adult while a fake job offer or peer-to-peer payment request may be more effective against a younger customer. For community financial institutions (CFIs), the most effective defense is just as tailored: delivering the right safeguards and messages to customers most likely to need them.

It’s clear that scammers are going after every population they can with an ever-evolving array of tactics. In general, they try different scams on different age groups. Effective detection and prevention can depend on connections with their customers, making CFIs and their strong customer relationships excellent partners in protection. A bank employee who notices a client suddenly beginning to send large wire transfers could save someone from a romance scam, for instance. Below are the four different age groups and tips to help protect them from fraud.

Boomers might get robo-calls, romance scams, email phishing, and sweepstakes scams. They’re particularly vulnerable to scams that manipulate personal connections, whether it’s a fake romance or an imitation of a grandchild needing bail money. People age 70 and older tend to lose more money per theft when they fall for scams, probably because their greater ages have given them time to amass savings. Boomers are most likely to remember positive, connection-oriented messages about stopping fraud, such as a reminder that they don’t have to handle tech problems alone and can always reach out to their CFI. Traditional communication methods, such as in-branch material, personal conversations, and mailed information, work for this group. Older Americans are more likely than younger adults to open physical mail.

Gen X bank customers are often the people in the middle of three generations, guiding their children while protecting their parents. They are therefore interested in how CFIs can help keep entire families away from scammers. 

Gen X is most vulnerable to email phishing and scams sent through text messages. They use banking apps and still visit CFI branches, so a multi-pronged approach to fraud prevention might meet them in both places. App-based authentication, which replaces one-time passwords with in-app push notifications that require biometric or PIN signoffs, can help keep this population safe. So can multi-factor authentication, which combines passwords, hardware keys, and/or biometrics in multiple verification steps, for high-risk account changes and large fund transfers.

Millennials grew up surrounded by the rise of the Internet, personal computers, and cell phones. These digital natives are most vulnerable to peer-to-peer payment app fraud and fake shipment tracking alerts.

Anti-fraud messages land best with Millennials when they’re convenient, fast, and don’t add frustration or delay. Text alerts and in-app notifications are both effective, mobile-first security tools that can cut off text-message scams and keep unauthorized people out of bank accounts.

Gen Z members are working toward their first jobs and financial milestones; their time online revolves around social media, in-app chatbots and short videos. They fall victim to employment scams, social media marketplace fraud, and credential phishing.

These customers spend an average of 7.2 hours a day online. Adults in other age groups have two to three hours of screen time. Their digital fluency may offer some protection, but it also means that Gen Z often encounter scams and can become complacent about them. A NordVPN study showed that 28% of Gen Z has clicked on a malicious link more than once — a bigger proportion than in any other age group.

Meet them where they are with anti-fraud messaging. Make it a game with “how fast you can spot the fraud?” campaigns. The American Bankers Association have created a cybersecurity awareness campaign called Banks Never Ask That. One piece of their campaign is an online game, Scam City, that is designed to help people spot phishing scams and avoid fraud. 

Of course, scammers don’t care how old someone is, as long as they fall for the con. A CFI should take a similarly ecumenical approach to fraud prevention. An overall approach that has something for everyone —information inside the branch, send by traditional mail, behavioral flags, in-app verification for unusual transactions, real-time alerts, multi-factor authentication, and engaging anti-fraud games can all help keep a CFI’s total customer population aware of and protected against cybercrime.

From Boomers to Gen Z, CFI customers differ by age group in their vulnerability to different types of financial fraud. A prevention strategy that meets clients where they are can greatly reduce the odds that CFI customers will fall for one of many cons.