New FINRA Study Examines Vulnerability to Scams

Which social and behavioral factors are tied to scams that target older adults? According to the study, things like age, loneliness and risky financial activities.

Column distributed by Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

Links to resources referenced:

FINRA Insights: Financial Capability
- https://www.finrafoundation.org/sites/finrafoundation/files/2025-02/research-brief-older-adults-fraud-risk.pdf?utm_source=MM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=O%5FMediaAdvisory%5FResearch%5FFraud%5F021925%5FFINAL
  - Related column excerpt:
    - “A new financial capability study recently released by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation (which included researchers from the University of Minnesota and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute) addressed this question. The study sought to get a better understanding of ‘which social and behavioral factors are tied to fraud victimization,’ especially when it involves scammers who target older adults.”
American Sociological Review: Social Change and Crime Rate Trends – A Routine Activity Approach
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/2094589?origin=crossref
  - Related column excerpt
    - “The study used the Routine Activities Theory (RAT), an approach to analyzing crime that involves ‘likely offenders, suitable targets and the absence of capable guardians against crime,’ as detailed in a paper published by the American Sociological Review in August 1979.”
Federal Trade Commission: As Nationwide Fraud Losses Top $10 Billion in 2023, FTC Steps Up Efforts to Protect the Public
- https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/02/nationwide-fraud-losses-top-10-billion-2023-ftc-steps-efforts-protect-public
  - Related column excerpt:
    - “Fraud won’t be eradicated. Consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, according to Federal Trade Commission data based on reports from 2.6 million consumers. The monetary loss was a 14% increase over the previous year and the first time that fraud losses reached that benchmark. The top two categories for financial loss were investment scams (more than $4.6 billion) and imposter scams (nearly $2.7 billion).”
Office for Victims of Crime: Elder Fraud & Abuse
- https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/elder-fraud-abuse/related-resources#:~:text=National%20Elder%20Fraud%20Hotline,with%20other%20resources%20as%20needed
  - Related column excerpt:
    - “The Office for Victims of Crime, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, has a section on elder fraud and abuse. Among the resources is the National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311), which is available Monday through Friday.”
FBI: How We Can Help You – Elder Fraud
- https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/elder-fraud
  - Related column excerpt
    - “The FBI’s elder fraud section lists common elder fraud schemes and provides a link for filing reports about elder fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.”