Overview

• Researchers surveyed 2,044 adults in Germany from September 8–10, 2025, with results representative of the 18+ population.
• Nearly half of Gen Z do not identify unsolicited email attachments as fraud at 49 percent, while only 51 percent react suspiciously to such attachments.
• Across all ages, 77 percent distrust requests for account or login data compared with 69 percent in Gen Z, and urgent action prompts draw skepticism from 73 percent overall versus 62 percent of Gen Z.
• Fewer respondents recognize other warning signs, including impersonal salutations at 68 percent overall versus 63 percent in Gen Z, faulty links at 68 percent overall with Gen Z the same, and spelling errors at 67 percent overall versus 63 percent in Gen Z.
• Initiative Sicher Handeln calls phishing widespread and highly professional and urges the public to follow its guidance to “Stoppen, Hinterfragen, Schützen.”