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By Lauren Young, Digital Special Projects Editor

When you think of those most likely to get scammed online, what kind of person comes to mind?

You might automatically think of Baby Boomers, who are typically not as tech savvy as younger generations. But that stereotype is wrong.

Members of Generation Z are more than three times as likely as Boomers to have fallen for an online scam in the past year, according to a new Deloitte report. 

This backs up separate findings from the Federal Trade Commission, which has found that younger generations are 34% more likely to report losing money to fraud compared to those 60-plus.

If your kids are like mine, they are heavy users of Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and Snapchat. 

Since Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2013) is basically online all the time, there are more opportunities to encounter shopping scams like counterfeit goods or nonexistent products, bogus giveaways plus phishing e-mails to gain access to financial accounts. Indeed, someone close to our family recently fell for a gift-card phishing scheme and lost $600.

It also feels like someone tries to dupe me via text or social media at least once a day. But I work for a company that provides extensive training to avoid online scams, so my radar is on high alert. 

For parents of teenagers or young adults who may be steering their own financial lives for the first time, the blizzard of online scams is a worrisome trend. 

Here are a few pointers to help keep them (and you) safe.

I want to hear from you! What scams are landing in your inbox? Do you have any additional tips to avoid getting duped? 

Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

Is it better to buy a condo or save for retirement? REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Q. I just liquidated my money market account and Roth IRA to put cash down for a condo.

Can you suggest some of my best options to park my regular IRA? It's presently in an account where I'm paying monthly fees and losing money. – Derek C.

A. Where to park cash now is a question I am asked again and again. 

As yields continue to climb, one of my favorite places to research cash options is Bankrate.com, which recently published this list of eight great short-term investments. 

Personally, I’d pay careful attention to the low-fee money market options, which are among the most liquid.

Do you have a pre-approved mortgage? You might also talk to your lender to see if they will offer you a good short-term savings rate.

By contrast, a certificate of deposit may require you to lock up your money for too long – making it harder to move quickly for a real estate purchase.

That said, I also reached out to a few experts, and they raised some red flags. The biggest one: Using retirement money to buy a home can be a good financial move, but you should never, ever stop saving for retirement.

“While I congratulate you on your recent real estate purchase, that in itself should not change your ongoing need to have your traditional IRA invested appropriately,” says Brian Hartmann, partner at Granite Bridge Wealth Management, part of Osaic.

It sounds like with your real estate purchase, you have given up quite a bit of funds that were once liquid for the purchase of your new condo, Hartmann notes.

“Without a thorough understanding of your current holdings, it is a challenge to say that what you are doing is not appropriate for your current situation,” Hartmann notes. 

With your new condo purchase and the responsibilities that come with that (including insurance, maintenance and taxes), take this time to get a solid understanding of your current investment allocation within your retirement savings. 

If after that review you are not comfortable with the conservative or aggressive nature of your holdings, get some professional help. Talk with a fiduciary investment professional to rebuild your investments so that they become aligned with your current life circumstances and goals, Hartmann advises.

“Today’s markets are just as worthy as any other time for investment,” Hartmann says. “That is especially true for long-term investors.”

U.S. banking stocks: Is bigger better? Sharply rising interest rates and concerns about the outlook for the economy have pushed banking stocks lower this year. Randy Watts of O'Neil Global Advisors explains why he thinks that when picking bank stocks, bigger is better – for now.

To borrow from an old campaign slogan, it costs more to put a chicken in every pot. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

I tend to eat chicken more than any other protein.

I am not alone: U.S. consumption of chicken is expected to exceed 100 pounds per person this year for the first time ever, data from the USDA shows.

But will that change, as chicken prices soar? 

Chicken prices at U.S. grocery stores have hit record highs and should stay elevated as Tyson Foods and other companies dial back poultry production to boost margins while inflation-weary shoppers buy chicken instead of beef and pork.

🍗🍗🍗 I want to hear from you! Are you eating more or less chicken? Have you noticed that chicken prices are higher? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

Ruben Galante is the barber of Buenos Aires as well as a witness to 19,000% inflation during his career. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

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