Consumer Protection for Millennials
When young people get behind on credit card payments and may be facing the possibility of consumer bankruptcy, are they more susceptible to scams that promise to help with debt burdens? According to a recent article from Consumer Reports, the Better Business Bureau recently conducted a study in which it ultimately identified Millennials—the current generation of younger people generally in their 20s—as being “most susceptible to scams.” For many Americans, the results of this study are surprising given that Millennials tend to be more educated and “consider themselves to be savvy consumers.”
What else do you need to know about the study? How can Chicago-area residents help to avoid “optimism bias” when facing consumer scams and debt practices?
Learning More About “Optimism Bias” Among Millennial Consumers
As the article reports, younger Americans likely are more susceptible to consumer scams because of something called “optimism bias.” What is optimism bias? The Better Business Bureau study describes it as a sense of feeling invulnerable when it comes to scams, which results in many Millennials failing to take proper consumer protections. Yet the optimism bias results in more harmful behaviors than simply failing to take protections. Indeed, it also “leads to a tendency to ignore warnings and other advice that could prevent them from being targets of scams.”
The study was called “Cracking the Invulnerability Illusion,” and it sought to determine why so many young people, like many elderly Americans, have recently been the targets of consumer scams. While scams have severe economic costs among the elderly population—last year alone, Consumer Reports cited losses of $3 billion due to financial fraud—Millennials seem to be hit even harder proportionally.
Young Consumers More Likely Than Seniors to Be Scammed
When we say that younger Americans are more likely than the elderly to be scammed, what kinds of number are we talking about? The study surveyed more than 2,000 people and determined that “those between the ages of 18 and 24 were more than three times as likely as seniors to not recognize a scam.” Yet another figure from the study is perhaps even more surprising: the Better Business Bureau determined that, while some of the youngest adults are the most likely to fail to identify a scam, “those aged 25 to 34 were most likely to report losing money to a scam.”
What can younger adults do to avoid being scammed? It is important to recognize vulnerability and to learn more about scams that may target young adults in debt. If you believe you have been the victim of a scam or a fraudulent debt collection practice, you should file a complaint.
Contact an Oak Park Bankruptcy Lawyer
If you are young and struggling with debt, it is important to recognize that bankruptcy protections are not limited to those in a certain age group. In some situations, personal bankruptcy may be able to help Millennials who have substantial debt to get a fresh start. To learn more, you should discuss your options with an experienced consumer protection lawyer in Oak Park. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today to speak with a dedicated advocate about your case.
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