Gen Z Archives

Scammers are targeting teens – Warn your Gen Zer about these tricks

I told you about the 14-year-old who committed suicide after following the advice of an AI chatbot. Another family is suing the same one — Character AI — after it told an autistic 14-year-old to kill his parents. It also exposed an 11-year-old to sexual content.

These stories are heavy reminders young people are especially vulnerable on the internet, but AI isn’t the only thing targeting them.

The fine folks at the FBI’s crime division say teens lost 2,500% more money to scams over a recent five-year stretch. Compare that to an 805% increase for seniors, which is still not great, but at least it’s not 2,500%.

So, why teens? Because thieves have more ways than ever to target them. Talk to anyone in your circle born between 1996 and 2010 about this. It’s a big deal.

Under the influence

Say a kiddo in your family idolizes an online influencer. That person is so easy to impersonate. All a fraudster has to do is set up a phony account that looks real, run a contest and trick “winners” into handing over their personal details (or more) to claim their (nonexistent) prizes. Done and done.

Pro tip: Stick to “official” influencer accounts with substantial follower counts. A smaller account is almost always a scammer, not some secret one. And never give financial info or money to someone via DM.

‘Hey there, handsome’

This one is a classic for a reason. Scammers grab pictures of an attractive teen or 20-something and play digital Casanovas. All too soon, they profess their love — then comes the request for money, gifts or info.

Pro tip: Try a reverse image search to see if those pics pop up elsewhere online. If the person refuses to video call or meet you in person, it’s a bad sign.

‘Send me a photo’

This is the dangerous intersection of smartphones, sexting and scammers. Someone shares sexy pictures and asks for some in return. As soon as the victim sends a pic or video, everything changes.

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Big tech rejected by Gen Z grads

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75% of this year’s top computer engineering grads are rejecting Big Tech, choosing purpose over prestige.

Makin’ a comeback: AirPods are out, tangled cords are in. Celebs like Emma Watson and Harry Styles are bringing back wired headphones, and Gen Z is riding the nostalgia wave straight to 2007. No charging. No losing one earbud at brunch. If your headphones aren’t in an impossible knot, are you even cool?

2.8x

More likely Gen Z is to treat travel like a dating app. Priceline’s 2025 Trend Report says Gen Z’s rolling their suitcases straight into romance. If you’re going to be single, might as well do it somewhere with cocktails, not push notifications.

🕰️ Gen Z raids Grandma: Turns out Grandma’s house is the new Supreme drop. Estate sales are popping with 20-somethings hunting for secondhand treasures that are cheap and well-made. It’s thrifting 2.0, but with more mid-century lamps you’ll aggressively make your personality for six months.

Gen Z wants flip phones — July 26th, Hour 4

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Forget the iPhone. Some Gen Zers are buying flip phones to unplug on purpose. Also: Siri’s getting dumber, a drone yells at you from the sky, and a Georgia woman loses $200K to a Bitcoin scam.

Gen Z wants out: Nearly 50% of Gen Z says they’d rather live in a world without the internet, according to a recent survey. Not less of it, none. The vibe? They’re not Luddites, they’re nostalgic for a weirder, less curated life where friendships weren’t content and the boredom felt more human.

🫣 Get with the program: To Gen Z, the classic 😊 isn’t cute, it’s a side-eye smirk dragged straight from the depths of emotional warfare. What boomers think says “warmth,” zoomers read as “Congrats on being dumb.” Up your emoji game. Instead of 👍, I use 💯 or 🫡. The ol’ ♥️ is fine, but I prefer 🫶 these days.

The emojis you’re using all wrong

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A thumbs-up doesn’t mean “great job” anymore. Here’s what Gen Z says your emojis really mean.

Gen Z wants flip phones — April 26th, Hour 4

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Forget the iPhone. Some Gen Zers are buying flip phones to unplug on purpose. Also: Siri’s getting dumber, a drone yells at you from the sky, and a Georgia woman loses $200K to a Bitcoin scam.

61%

Of employees have been backstabbed at work. The main culprits? Gen Z and millennials, who are twice as likely to throw someone under the bus to climb the ladder. One in four workers say their boss has set them up to fail. Coworkers by day, betrayal speedrunners by lunch.

25%

Americans feel burned out before they turn 30. Many Gen Z and millennials say they’ve hit “peak stress” at 25. That’s way younger than the average of 42 years old when most folks start having a midlife crisis.

Gen Z is paying $20 just to talk

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Putting down the phone is harder than ever. Now, some Gen Zers are so desperate for a real convo, they’re willing to shell out for it.

Gen Z vs. the bosses

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Big names like Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Trump are demanding employees return to the office. Some are complying, others are quitting. Is Gen Z about to be left behind?

Your DNA could soon be up for sale

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You spit in a tube, and now 23andMe is thinking of selling your data after a massive hack tanked their value. So much for learning your ancestry. Meanwhile, Gen Z is going #desperate on LinkedIn, and Mazda’s charging $10 just to use remote start.

Bosses are firing Gen Z workers fast

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Gen Z grads are getting the axe — 6 in 10 employers have already let them go. Plus, a massive security breach exposed the private info of millions. Find out how one guy spent $1K on Facebook Ads to find love and about a new law that could change your car radio.

How I avoided a $40K scam

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Paul emailed me about a $39,500 invoice, demanding I pay up ASAP. The problem? I didn’t owe him a cent. Plus, AI is eyeing 60 million jobs, Gen Z is trauma dumping on TikTok, and a woman was rescued after falling 60 feet off a mountain thanks to her navigation app.

Is Google dying?

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Eighteen years ago, “Google” became an official verb, but now Gen Z and Gen Alpha are moving away from it.

Are scammers using infidelity to manipulate you?

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“Your spouse is cheating on you.” That’s the shocking line behind a new sextortion scam. The message includes a link claiming to offer “proof,” but it’s a trap to get you to click. Plus, Gen Z is moving away from Google, and strange science wins big at the Ig Nobel awards.