More than a third of Americans faced financial fraud in a year, and most have been scammed at some point. Many now take precautions.
NEW YORK – More than a third of Americans have been exposed to financial fraud over a 12-month period and 68% of Americans have experienced a financial scam at some point in their lives, according to a new survey released by Bankrate, a personal finance company based in New York.
The survey, which polled more than 2,500 U.S. adults in January 2025, found that among the 34% who said they were targeted by a financial scheme since January 2024, nine in 10 reported someone either accessed or attempted to access their personal financial information, such as their bank account, credit cards or Social Security number.
The good news was that more than half (57%) of the survey respondents said these attempts were unsuccessful.
However, nearly two in five (37%) of Americans who have experienced a financial scam over a 12-month period said someone stole their funds after accessing their personal or financial information (19%) and those who sent funds to a fraudsters or paid for a fake service (23%).
Among the generations, the 39% of the elderly (ages 61-79) were the most likely to be victimized over the 12-month period, followed by 34% of Gen Xers (ages 45-60), 32% of millennials (ages 29-44) and 31% of Gen Zers (ages 18-28).
Gen Zers who were conned out of their cash over the past 12 months were the most likely to report they lost money at 53%, followed by 45% of millennials, 32% of Gen Xers and 26% of baby boomers.
The encouraging news was that 89% of Americans, including seniors, took steps to protect their personal finances from these scams.
Those steps included avoiding suspicious links or emails (69%), regularly (i.e. at least once every few months) monitoring financial accounts (53%) and enabling two-factor authentication for personal accounts (49%).
Notably, baby boomers (95%) were the most likely to have taken at least one of these steps to protect their finances.
According the Bankrate survey, 73% of those who have taken at least one step to protect their financial information over 12 months reported they experienced fraud at some point.
In contrast, only 29% of those who have not taken protective steps reported ever being defrauded, and just 6% said they were defrauded or scammed over 12 months.
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