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A new report shows that Gen Z thinks the economy is so unfair that they feel justified in committing fraud.

Referred to as the first fully ‘digitally native’ generation, members of the Gen Z years were born between 1997 and 2012. So as of 2024, the Gen Z age range is anywhere from 12 to 27.

A third of these Zoomers either know someone who has committed first-party fraud or done so themselves, according to an AI-powered fraud decisioning platform called Sift, which released its Q1 report.

The new findings bookend the company’s Q4 report which found that 42% of Gen Z admitted to committing first-person fraud. In the same Q1 report, just 10% of Baby Boomers (in the 65-75 age range) said they either knew someone who committed fraud or did so themselves. This highlights how Gen Zers’ rate of fraud is much higher than all other generations.

Sift found that Zoomers were purposefully disputing charges they knew to be legitimate because they reckon the economy is f**ked anyway.

Sift’s CEO Kris Nagel wrote in an essay in Forbes that although the data “might seem sensational,” it’s actually “very telling” about the state of the economy.

Nagel mentioned an Intuit study that found 73% of Zoomers struggle to save money. He pointed out that young people are dealing with inflation, student loan debt, and a housing crisis while wages stay the same.

“These factors snowball into a financially stressful situation that makes it more challenging to afford day-to-day necessities.”

“Facing the wrong set of circumstances, some people will turn to stolen payment methods or chargebacks to get more with less,” Nagel wrote. “In these situations, consumers may rationalize fraudulent behavior by convincing themselves that their actions are necessary or justified given the economic environment.”

The CEO also said that Gen Z likes to stick it to the Big Man, seeing large corporations as part of the reasons for their financial struggles and thus not feeling loyally bound at all.

“They may view their actions as a temporary solution, or even as a moral gray area with few consequences to anyone,” he wrote.

“The willingness of Gen Z to engage in online fraud is a reflection of the complex interplay of economic pressures, changing consumer behaviors, and the influence of social media,” he wrote. “This trend, while having a real business impact, stems from a place of financial stress, a desire for affordability, and a distinct approach to brand loyalty and consumption.”

To combat Gen Z’s reported penchant for fraud, he suggests companies emphasise social responsibility, offer flexible payment plans, make sure they have clear return policies and prioritise customer service.

An entire global economic overhaul might also be a fun way to fix this problem – no?

[source:quartz]