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Millennials be aware, scammers are targeting you

It's fake ads and coupons that scammers hope you click on to take your personal information.

ATLANTA -- The availability of technology and the normalcy of social media make millennials easy targets for scams. The online viruses spread so quickly, it's sometimes hard to find the source.

For example, a fake Kroger coupon got so much attention recently, the company issued a statement saying on its social media pages saying it wasn't true.

Facebook has over 2.1 billion users, which is sometimes used by thieves, ready to rip off millennials or others who scammers see as easy targets. Facebook officials said in May that the social media platform would use artificial intelligence to help remove fake accounts.

That same month, about 583 million fake accounts were deleted.

RELATED | Kroger warns customers of fake $250 coupon circulating on social media

MORE | Tyler Perry addresses Facebook scams; says he's not giving away anything

Movie star and TV mogul Tyler Perry took to Facebook and Instagram this week to let people know about a scam that was going around where the thieves were using his name to push it forward.

"I don't know who they are but every day we have to get 10, 20, 30 of those things shut down on Facebook," he said in the video message.

He ended the message by saying, "Stop it, devil!"

It's fake ads like those that scammers hope you click on to take your personal information.

According to the Federal Trade Commission's 2017 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

consumers in their twenties reported losing money to fraud more often than those over age 70.

Among people aged 20 to 29 who reported fraud, 40 percent indicated they lost money. In comparison, just 18 percent of those 70 and older indicated they lost any money.

In addition, out of the states with the highest per capita rates of fraud last year, Georgia ranks No. 2, behind Florida. Nevada, Delaware, and Michigan filled the other top spots.

As for identity theft, Georgia ranks No. 9 in the country.

Across the nation, there were about 7,645 email or social media type identity theft reports in the 2017 report, which is a 35 percent increase from the previous year.

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