ABSTRACT
Everyone, regardless of age, gender, or health and economic status, is vulnerable to being defrauded. Yet particular vulnerabilities render some more vulnerable than others. This chapter investigates the psychological aspects of vulnerability to becoming a victim of fraud in older age. Understanding fraud victimization in older adults is especially important for three reasons: (1) as a group, older adults have the most wealth compared with other adults; (2) older adults are more subject to the neurocognitive disorders and physical disabilities that cause them to be dependent on others; and (3) data demonstrate that older adults are the group most targeted by direct fraudulent appeals. For instance, the 2019 Consumer Finance Protection Bureau found that 80% of all Suspicious Activity reports involved adults over 60.
The psychological aspects of fraud in older adults must be understood in order to reduce this growing population’s susceptibility to being victimized. We will review our research in this chapter, which began by asking how psychological vulnerabilities contribute to reports of older adult fraud. Our findings led us to create new financial decision-making scales, a new financial exploitation vulnerability scale, and a financial coaching intervention. Each of these endeavors underscores the multidimensional ways in which older fraud victims are vulnerable and the central elements of psychological vulnerability. In addition, we will examine novel ideas and propose directions for future research.
