Fraud 101 For Young Adults
Image
February 5 2026
I sent my eldest son to college this fall. I had all the normal mom angst, worried if I had packed enough life lessons into the last 18 years. He is prepared to cook, change a tire, wash his clothes, and change his sheets regularly (I hope!). But how often do we prepare our young adults with information about fraud?
College students are learning the way of the world, managing their finances for the first time and often in a new location with a different support system. Fraudsters are keenly aware that college students may be easier potential victims. Some of the most common types of scams affecting college students are listed below.
Phishing email – Scammers send fraudulent emails asking the receiver to confirm personal information including email address, financial information, or sensitive personal details. This request usually comes from an email that looks legitimate but is actually the fraudster gathering information to hack accounts, create fake profiles, or commit fraud.
Marketplace scams – Buyers and sellers beware of online platforms used for the exchange of goods. Scammers “sell” products that are nonexistent, so no goods are received when payment is made. They also “buy” goods with fake payment methods or overpay and then ask for money back.
Job Scams – Fraudsters offer glamorous “fake” jobs that are attractive to students because of a high pay rate. They require upfront job fees that a student would send to the fraudster, however the job is nonexistent, and the funds are not recoverable.
Teaching young adults to spot fraud empowers them to manage their own finances and to keep those hard-earned dollars from summer jobs for themselves. Encourage a young adult in your life to enroll in a fraud seminar class offered by Bruning Bank, talk to them about potential scams, and remind them to stay vigilant about all emails they receive.
As for my son, I visited over parents’ weekend, and life is good! His dorm is clean, he has made wonderful friends, and he says the cafeteria food is amazing. (What does that say about my cooking?) I can only hope he listened to the words of advice I gave him about fraud before it is too late.
-Helen Forster, Relationship Specialist-