I Never Thought I’d Fall For A Scam. Until I Did

Here's how scammers are targeting Gen-Xers.

By
Published August 07, 2026
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Elizabeth Brockway

I never thought I’d fall for a scam. Until I did.

I assumed that scammers mostly targeted the oldest and most vulnerable people who were much less skilled in technology. But today’s scams affect everyone — from boomers to Gen Z. There’s been an increase in Gen-X scams, as they are comfortable with online banking and shopping, and often distracted by busy lives juggling jobs, children, and aging parents.

A study by the Federal Trade Commission found that Gen X and Millennials were 34 percent more likely to report losing money to fraud than people over 65. And A.I. is making many scams even more difficult to detect.

I was shocked when I fell for a scam recently. The university where I am a professor gives faculty free use of Microsoft Word. Suddenly, mine stopped working. I needed to renew my free subscription, so I clicked on Microsoft customer support. Or so I thought.

The person on the phone had a thick accent, and spoke very slowly as if I were using a computer for the first time. I had deadlines and was eager to get back to work quickly. He led me down a digital rabbit hole, and even though I suspected something was off, I kept following his directions.

“You’re so focused on getting the problem solved that you listen to a stranger’s instructions even when you suspect it’s not right,” says Laurie Duncan, who provides tech support services to individuals and companies at Tensionless Tech. She told me of a 40-year-old professional client who lost $3,500 in a bogus payment.

In my case, I grew frustrated with the stranger on my phone, and asked my husband to intervene. He trusted I was talking to an authentic customer support person, and followed directions to download files that we later found out would allow the cybercriminal to take control of my desktop computer. When he asked for payment with a credit card, my husband hung up and unplugged my computer until Duncan could arrive at my house and trash all the files. I spent all evening changing every single password.

The FBI claims that cybercriminals have defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion in 2025, with $83 million in losses linked to A.I. The rudimentary misspelled emails and phishing text messages are anachronistic. A.I. can create personalized attacks making you think it’s actually real. “It’s very easy and cheap to do a real-time video call with whole body replacement and voice changing in a way that’s completely realistic,” claims Andrew Yoon, a researcher at CivAi, a nonprofit that teaches people about A.I.’s capabilities.

Here’s how to protect yourself.

  • Always be alert. It is possible to get a call allegedly from your child’s phone number or a video call with an A.I. simulation of them requesting money.
  • Popular scams include lending schemes, a romantic partner from the past who wants to contact you, or a job seeker being asked for a phony interview.
  • Be aware of email return addresses that don’t seem real, especially if the actual name of the sender does not exactly match the company contacting you. Do not respond to suspicious emails that are not sent solely to you but rather to a list of other recipients.
  • Never give your credit card or bank information to someone who calls you.
  • Beware of fake celebrities who endorse products. Make sure everything you buy comes from an official source.
  • Fake online shopping websites and social media ads can tap into what you’re interested in, from yoga pants to pickleball rackets. A.I.-generated retailers do not have real products. You may think the price for a new TV is amazingly low. If a price sounds unbelievable, it probably is.
  • It’s getting harder to see if a big brand website or customer service support is the real thing. Tech support impersonators pretend they’re from Apple and Microsoft, among many others (I learned my lesson!).
  • You can do a Google search for a store’s web address or read what people say about it on sites like Reddit.
  • Never click on suspicious links, such as a message that you have an unexpected delivery.
  • If you’re searching for travel delays and cancellations, make sure you go directly to the official website, phone number, or airline/hotel app.
  • Change passwords often using different ones for each site. “If you can remember your password, it’s not a safe one,” Duncan advises, She suggests a string of unrelated words and symbols. Here’s an example: winterfishlightbulbpizza47&%.

Social media has many advantages as well as risks. We share personal information and photos. The FBI warns that this can be mined by hackers and used to access password-protected accounts or even sold on internet marketplaces. Always be suspicious of clicking on the first thing that comes up on Google searches designed to entice you with amazing sales or threats of cancelling your accounts. Always be alert to scams by familiarizing yourself with them and taking a few breaths before quickly reacting.

Have YOU ever been the victim of a scam? Let us know in the comments below.

Candy Schulman’s essays, health, and travel pieces have appeared in AARP, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Next Avenue, Oldster, Parents, Travel & Leisure, among others. She is a creative writing professor at the New School in New York City and a private writing coach. Learn more at candyschulman.com.