35 Per Cent Of Gen Z Ready To Move Money For Strangers, 71 Per Cent Unaware Of Criminal Risk: Barclays Report

Gen Z students and young professionals are emerging as prime targets for online frauds, the Barclays Scams Bulletin reveals. The hackers are turning to SMS and messaging applications more than ever before to target youths, with 71 per cent of students reporting that scam activity is on the rise.

Two serious threats come to the forefront: false job advertisements and money mule recruitment scams. These frauds frequently intersect, targeting students balancing tuition, rent and part-time jobs in a constrained job market. 

The Growing Menace Of Job Scams

Nearly half, or 48 per cent, of Gen Z individuals aged between 18 to 24 have been targeted by a job scam or know someone who has. Job scams now rank among the most common fraud types faced by this generation, alongside identity impersonation.

Scammers usually offer high returns for little effort, requesting advance payments for "training" or "equipment" or to obtain personal data to perform more fraud. Other victims are even conned into money laundering.

Around 60 per cent of the youth reported that they were contacted by scammers via text or messaging apps. According to Barclays statistics, reports of SMS scams among Gen Z have increased by 63 per cent since 2023 and currently account for 15 per cent of all scam-related claims for the year. Social media remained the largest source of reported scams at 59 per cent.

The Psychological Effect

The psychological effect is also huge. Of the individuals targeted personally, 63 per cent claimed to have been made more vigilant in their job search, and almost half, 48 per cent, were deterred from seeking remote work. But only 31 per cent informed their bank about the scam, and 23 per cent spoke about it to a family member.

Most young people think technology firms should do more to stop scammers, with 72 per cent calling for platforms to act more to prevent criminals from exploiting users.

The Money Mule Misunderstanding

The report also points to the lack of awareness of money mule scams, where the perpetrators enlist people to send or "process" money via their accounts. These scams come in the form of simple side jobs or freelance work with the promise of quick pay.

The study by Barclays discovered that 35 per cent of Gen Z would send money to someone they don't know if paid a fee, and 14 per cent claimed they would be very likely to do so.

The penalties are severe. Being a money mule, even inadvertently, can lead to a criminal conviction or a bank account permanently being closed. Despite this, 71 per cent of Gen Z participants indicated they had not heard the legal threat, and 72 per cent were not aware their account might be shut, therefore.

A quarter of those who had been victims of such scams reported they would not report being scammed because of embarrassment, the stigma of having been scammed and ongoing issue of under-reporting.

The Barclays Scams Bulletin concludes that scammers are adapting quickly, using credible-looking texts and direct messages to win trust. With Gen Z spending more time online for work, study and social interaction, their exposure to such scams has increased significantly.