DEC. 16, 2025 – Last holiday season, nearly one-third of U.S. adults planned to use peer-to-peer payment (P2P) apps such as Venmo, Cash App or Zelle for holiday purchases. These apps play a major role in how people share expenses and handle last-minute shopping, while regulators continue to warn that P2P platforms are among the most common targets for scams due to fast, irreversible transfers and limited protections. 

New survey data from Valid8 Financial shows that most users feel confident spotting fraud, yet many have already been scammed. The findings also show higher exposure among adults with fewer financial resources and educational opportunities, who often have less support when navigating verification steps.

According to David Tyree, retired DEA agent and Director of Financial Crimes and Investigations, with Valid8 Financial, scammers move fast and wait for the moment people feel nervous, like being rushed around during the holidays. 

“That’s when users are most likely to send money without consideration,” he said. “Fraudsters study what real banks, landlords, friends and retailers look like and copy the details that make people feel secure. I have seen fake profiles with the right photos and posts ready for the moment someone panics about a charge or transfer. Our data shows that younger demographics point to online social cues like emojis and built-out profiles as a trust indicator, pointing to key areas they’re exploited. If I could give any advice, it would be ‘slow down and verify’ - it might make all the difference.”

Young, Confident and Exposed

Younger adults report high confidence in their ability to navigate P2P apps, yet they also experience the highest scam rates. Their reliance on social cues such as emojis, profile photos and familiar-sounding names creates openings that sophisticated fraudsters increasingly exploit.

• 65% of Gen Z and 61% of Millennials believe they are much smarter than average at spotting scams, compared with 50% of Gen X and Boomers.
• Despite their confidence, 43% of Gen Z and 28% of Millennials state having already been scammed.
• 29% of Gen Z say cues like emojis make them more likely to trust a request versus a single-digit share of boomers.
• Trust in newer brands also skews younger, with Gen Z far more likely than older adults to say they trust Cash App or Apple Pay.

Personal Responsibility Meets a Professional Scam Economy

Many users blame themselves rather than the systems that enable scams, which reduces reporting and leaves platforms with fewer signals to identify fraud. This silence contributes to a growing pool of untracked losses that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable users.

• 39% of adults say scams are rising because people are “not careful enough,” while only 14% believe apps do not do enough to protect users.
• Victims often tell friends or post online rather than contact the app, bank or law enforcement, limiting efforts to track patterns or intervene.
• Adults facing financial hardship show even lower likelihood of reporting incidents, compounding the impact of their losses.

Fraud Hits More Vulnerable Groups the Hardest

The survey shows that financial vulnerability plays a major role in scam exposure. Adults with fewer financial resources or limited educational opportunities are more likely to skip verification steps, report being scammed and face the greatest difficulty recovering from losses.

• Adults earning below $25,000 are more than three times as likely as those earning $75,000 to $99,000 to say they are unlikely to verify the creator of a request before they send money.
• 28% of adults with some high school or less say they are not likely to verify, compared with 9% of college graduates.
• Adults without college degrees report scam exposure between 28% and 39% compared with 18% of bachelor’s degree holders.

“The survey suggests education alone will not be enough. As professional fraud networks refine scripts, rely on sophisticated AI models and social engineering tactics, the burden on individual users has never been higher,” said Tyree. “ Payment apps, financial institutions and regulators will need to assume that even careful users can be fooled and must work towards stronger protections, dispute processes and investigative tools that reflect that reality.”

To learn more about Valid8 and its solutions, please visit valid8financial.com.

Survey Methodology

Dynata conducted the survey in November 2025. The results included 1,000 online responses from adults aged 18+ across the United States.