Millennials Most Likely to Fall Victim to Bank Fraud

Millennials are more likely than any other age group to hand money to scammers, according to research from Lloyds Bank.

People over 55 lose the most to fraudsters—an average of £10,716 per scam—but are now less likely to be duped than younger people.

Scammers typically impersonate bank staff, the police, or HM Revenue and Customs.

Although millennials victims personally lost less money than older people—an average of £2,630 per scam—the generation suffered more overall. The number of fraud victims between the ages of 18 and 34 has risen fourfold, even as the overall rate of scams has fallen.

Younger people are thought to be more likely to be victimised because of their embrace of online banking. Meanwhile, greater awareness of scams among older people have driven cheats to new tactics—and new victim pools.

And it wasn’t just millennials being fleeced. Three times as many people between the ages of 45 and 54 were cheated as those over 55. These middle-aged victims in this cohort lost an average of £3,573 per fraud.

Paul Davis, fraud and financial crime director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Helping to keep our customers’ money safe is our number one priority. Being a victim of fraud can have devastating effects not just on people’s finances, but also their lives.

“While we are working 24/7 behind the scenes to protect customers and millions of pounds have been frozen, every day fraudsters are trying to trick people into handing over their personal information, like a PIN or password, or transferring cash.”

The bank is launching a multimedia campaign to make people aware of the signs of scams. The campaign, which will include a TV advert, will remind customers that the bank will never phone and ask them to transfer money to a different bank account.

“The more we all know about spotting scams, the safer we will all be,” Davis said.

Gareth Shaw, head of money content at consumer group Which?, said: “Anyone of any age can fall victim to a bank transfer scam, as fraudsters use increasingly sophisticated tactics – and people are losing life-changing sums of money every day as a result.”

He urged banks and other payment providers to sign up to a new voluntary code offering greater protection to customers and victims of financial fraud.