7 tricks fraudsters use to entrap the elderly
by Steve Vernon, Money Watch
April 25, 2017
“Financial fraud is common today — no one is immune to solicitations from fraudsters. Chances are very good that one of these criminals has targeted you or a loved one recently.
Fraudsters go after older adults because they’re believed to be more trusting and socially isolated. Plus, they often have more assets to exploit. Bad guys rely on very common strategies to take advantage of their marks. ‘Recognizing these persuasion tactics will go a long way toward preventing you or a loved one from being victimized,’ said Marti DeLiema, a post-doctoral fellow at the Stanford Center on Longevity.
DeLiema is one of the nation’s leading experts on financial fraud of the elderly. Here she describes seven tricks scammers use on their victims.
- Emotional arousal
- Scarcity
- Source credibility
- Social consensus
- The norm of reciprocity
- Distraction
- ‘Landscaping’
These seven tactics aren’t unique to financial fraud. You experience them often when deciding between legitimate goods and investments. The problem is that fraudsters also use these same persuasion tactics for illicit purposes. If you recognize these influence strategies, you can significantly protect your money from financial predators, legal or criminal.
DeLiema summed it up with great advice: ‘Get into the habit of using these suggested defenses for all important transactions to help you get the most from your hard-earned money.'”
Read more details on elderly scams and suggested defenses
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