Google survey highlights generational shift in online security habits and scam detection

A new Google and Morning Consult study reveals that while most U.S. consumers see more online scams and many have faced data breaches, they're also more confident in spotting threats, with younger generations notably quicker to adopt newer security methods.

• Scam alert: Text messages are prime phishing territory, though just over 60% of people also report email as a common scam channel. This constant exposure appears to be honing user intuition, making them better at recognizing red flags like urgent personal data requests or suspicious URLs.

• Generational guards: A clear age divide marks online safety habits: over 60% of Gen X and Baby Boomers stick to traditional passwords. In contrast, Gen Z and many Millennials lean towards modern approaches, often choosing passkeys or tools like "Sign in with Google"—a trend aligning with findings that over half of Americans, and particularly over 60% of Gen Z, spend at least five hours daily on their phones.

• Account clutter cut?: Most users manage 10 or fewer online accounts. Google suggests this trend stems from the prevalence of social sign-ins, which simplify access across numerous platforms.

• Password's last stand: Google is actively encouraging a shift to a more secure, password-less future. "We want to move beyond passwords altogether," Evan Kotsovinos, Google's VP of Privacy, Safety, and Security, wrote in the company's survey announcement post. "We strongly encourage passkeys, which allow you to ditch the headache of memorizing and updating passwords and stay much safer at the same time."

This growing user awareness and generational shift in security practices come as the FBI reports a staggering sum of more than $16 billion lost to online scams in 2023, an increase of about a third from the previous year. While tech companies bolster defenses, the data points to a continuous digital arms race where user savvy and modern tools are key.

Elsewhere, AI is reportedly making phishing emails harder to detect by perfecting their grammar and tone. On the defensive front, Fannie Mae is partnering with Palantir to use AI for quicker mortgage fraud detection. However, not all AI ventures are straightforward; AI startup Builder.ai allegedly faked business deals to inflate its sales figures.