Consumer vulnerability to scams, swindles, and fraud: A new theory of visceral influences on persuasion

“Scams and fraud deprive U.S. consumers of more than $100 billion annually (Langenderfer and Shimp 2001).”

“For instance, Langenderfer and Shimp (2001) described why and how gullibility and interpersonal influence make consumers vulnerable to marketing scams, especially with the rise of the Internet.”

“Visceral triggers (for example, stressing urgency of response) are motivational manipulations that scammers use to reduce the depth at which people process information, allowing decision errors to occur [10], [11].”

“The elaboration likelihood model (Petty and Cacioppo 1986) is believed by some (Rusch 1999; Langenderfer and Shimp 2001) to be a useful model to explain why some individuals are scammed by mass marketing fraud.”

“Visceral appeals Visceral appeal was another key finding in the Office of Fair Trading (2009) research as well as some other studies which have explored scammers (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001; Kienpointner, 2006).”

“Unscrupulous con artists routinely victimize consumers, and many of the prevention efforts undertaken to date have failed [44].”

“The perpetrators of online scams create scenarios in which a target feels suf fi ciently con fi dent to respond, often using emotionally oriented triggers related to panic, excitement, curiosity or empathy, to encourage errors in judgement and decision making (Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001).”

“, 2010) or fraud experts (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001).”

“22 This might help explain why losses tend to be even greater for older adults when they have an existing personal relationship with a scammer.”

“By their very nature, visceral factors consume decision-making resources and motivate individuals to act immediately based on instinct (Langenderfer & Shrimp, 2001).”

“For other marketing manipulations such as scams, previous research has suggested that vulnerable consumers (e.g., those who are elderly or less educated) are sometimes targeted and impacted to a greater extent (Hill 1995; Hill and Sharma 2020; Langenderfer and Shimp 2001).”

“…research has suggested a relationship between loneliness and older adult telemarketing fraud susceptibility (Friedman, 1992; Kang & Ridgway, 1996; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Lee & Geitsfeld, 1997; Lee & Soberon-Ferrer, 1997), a descriptive design provides evidence substantiating or negating the…”

“The mechanism makes victims highly motivated to reply or click on the link (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001; Fischer et al., 2008; Kircanski et al., 2018).”

“Older adults have previously shown to be more susceptible to persuasive influence due to factors such as lower awareness of persuasion, social isolation, and psychological loss ( 96 , 97 ).”

“…researchers have attempted to identify and profile vulnerable consumers using sociodemographic variables such as age, income, ethnicity, and race (e.g., Andreasen and Manning 1990; Benet, Pitts, and LaTour 1993; Andreasen 1993; Smith and Cooper-Martin 1997; Langenderfer and Shimp 2001; Hill 2002).”

“In [19], Langenderfer et al. identified the fact that scam messages often attempt to present a unique opportunity and require urgent response.”

“Langenderfer and Shimp (2001) have shown that lack of self-control increases the likelihood of being swindled as individuals have a harder time regulating their emotional responses when their ability to control themselves is lowered.”

“Lazarus (1999a; see also Rycroft, 1979) opines, "A fundamental condition of yearning and hope is that our current life circumstance is unsatisfactory--that is, it involves deprivation" (pg. 653). Thus a gambler down to his last few dollars will experience more yearning and greater hope for winning the lottery than the…”

“Other researchers highlight factors such as customer scams (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001), fraud, deceptive practices, misleading advertising claims (Grazioli and Jarvenpaa, 2003), and customer litigation (Golann, 1990, Chylinski and Chu, 2010).”

“Visceral influences are thought to create a short-term feeling of being ‘out of control’ (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001).”

“This finding supports our third hypothesis and is in line with the theory of visceral influences on persuasion (Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001).”

“Literature [37] suggests that victims’ trust in scammers is a factor in scam compliance leading to shift of victims’ focus on the interaction rather than the plausibility of the message.”

“Although research on the construct of gullibility per se has been sparse (e.g., Greenspan, 2009a; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Mercier, 2017; Yamagishi, Kikuchi, & Kosugi, 1999), investigations into why people believe the implausible has a long tradition in psychology.”

“People with low self-control tend to take risks due to the urge for immediate gratification and are more vulnerable to falling as victims (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001; Schreck et al., 2006; Holtfreter et al., 2008).”

“…including those of marketing and advertising strategies (Bailey, 1987; Benet et al., 1993; Butler, 1968; French & Crask, 1977; Gaeth & Heath, 1987; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Lee & Geistfeld, 1999; Lee & Soberon-Ferrer, 1996, 1997; Lonial & Raju, 1990; McGhee, 1983; Smith et al., 1985;…”

“A number of researchers have explored older consumers’ susceptibility to fall victim of fraud through telemarketing or other unethical sales tactics (e.g. Alves & Wilson, 2008; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Lee & Geistfeld, 1999; Lee & Soberon-Ferrer, 1997; McGhee, 1983).”

“As Langenderfer and Shimp (2001) describe, vulnerability can also be connected to gullibility with consumers that are more trusting being more gullible and, as a result, more vulnerable to deceptive or persuasive marketing tactics.”

“Common tactics from Cialdini’s model of persuasion and social influence have also been proposed (Cialdini, 2006; Fischer, Lea, & Evans, 2013; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001).”

“Lastly, research points to the role of urgency in scam recruitment, encouraging decisionmaking during “hot” rather than “cold” moments to limit information search and processing (Langenderfer and Shimp 2001).”

“Benet, Pitts, & LaTour, 1993 ; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001 ) and consumers' limited economic power (e.”

“Research indicates that loneliness and isolation make individuals more willing to answer unknown phone calls (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001), and the presence of relatives and family members can function as an extra pair of eyes/ears that can prevent scams (DeLiema, 2018).”

“Others address combinations of scam practices (Modic and Lea, 2013), use differing lists of acts to define scams or fraudulent practices (Mason and Benson, 1996; Titus and Gover, 2001), or approach scams by practice type, such as face-to-face or two-way communication (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001).”

“These include physical features, such as age ( Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001”

“In terms of mitigating one’s susceptibility to such fraud, having knowledge about scams is central [5], [6].”

“When individuals are too eager to obtain a reward promised by fraudulent information or to avoid the danger contained in fraudulent information, they ignore obvious clues to fraud in the attention process (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001).”

“There have been only a few studies that have explored this area (see for example Button et al., 2014; Fischer et al., 2013; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Titus & Gover, 2001; Whitty, 2013, 2015) and the accounts of fraud victims (Button et al., 2014; Cross & Blackshaw, 2015; Cross et al., 2019;…”

“, 2018, Hyslip and Holt, 2019), fraudulent messages and persuasion techniques (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001; Lea et al., 2009; Dolan et al., 2012; Button et al., 2014).”

“The vulnerability model, for example, summarized the effect of visceral effects on scam compliance [39].”

“In turn, for consumer psychology literature in general, it may not come as a surprise that intelligence (e.g., Burroughs & Mick, 2004; Capon & Davis, 1984; Hirschman, 1983; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001) affects consumer decision making.”

“Other psychologists have suggested a theory of scamming vulnerability (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001) which includes factors such as gullibility and skepticism.”

“(12–14) As in legitimate forms of marketing, scams emphasize the urgency of the opportunity or required action.(15) If urgency is taken at face value, then there is not time to contemplate and “think on it” as one would in the direct route to persuasion.”

“A victim who has high focus on the scam reward might get hooked by the phishing attack if s/he has low self-control, for example, and a victim who focuses on scam cues might get hooked if s/he has a low attention to the cues, in addition to having a high level of “social isolation”, “cognitive impairment”, “gullibilit…”

“It is also mentioned in other literature surrounding scam susceptibility (Titus and Gover 2001; Langenderfer and Shimp 2001; Fischer et al. 2013).”

“Recent experimental works analyzed how different forms of cognitive manipulation are involved in cognitive attacks [ 33-36 ].”

“Scams are likely to occur when a situation has asymmetric information, with the consumer lacking knowledge and the scammer knowing the final outcome (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001).”

“Secondly, the Scam Vulnerability Model by Langenderfer and Shimp (2001), despite a clear picture of information processing through the central route, lacks clarification through the peripheral route.”

“Recent research has posited that persuasive-minded individuals (e.g. advertisers, salespeople) employ visceral stimuli to generate rapid-affective responses, thus possibly resulting in an impulsive response (langenderfer & Shimp 2001; Bell et al. 2007).”

“Scammers may intensify urgency through storytelling, constructing scenarios that pressure victims to act quickly (Dove, 2018; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Loewenstein, 1996).”

“These strategies can impair victims’ ability to make rational decisions, thereby increasing their vulnerability to deception (Eisend, 2008; Fischer, Greitemeyer, et al., 2008; Fischer, Schulz-Hardt, et al., 2008; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001).”

“For example, the ability to reach a wider audience and the low cost of operations facilitate the migration of criminal enterprises from the physical world to cyberspace [88].”

“Does a differentiated vulnerable population actually exist? Can this vulnerable population be identified? A long stream of past research in offline worlds has shown that users have different likelihoods of making incorrect (security, economic, or health-related) decisions, and more importantly, it suggests that it is…”

“Langenderfer et al. (2001) argued that gullibility is a trait that is often present as a component of scam vulnerability, although it is not necessarily vital.”

“The customer’s lack of knowledge regarding internet vendors’ integrity may increase feelings of vulnerability (Langenderfer and Shimp, 2001).”

“Because different scam typologies plausibly exploit distinct vulnerabilities (Langenderfer & shimp, 2001; whitty, 2020) future work should explicitly compare predictors across scam types and populations using consistent theory-driven measures. such designs can help distinguish common risk factors…”

“Previous analyses have also shown the prevalence of urgency cues(13) and visceral appeals, such as money, love or sorrow, in eliciting compliance from the targets.(14) Vishwanath and others also found that attention to urgency cues is positively related to the potential victim’s likelihood of responding to the fraudul…”

“…cases, when per-petrators vividly describe fictitious rewards in a vivid and tangible manner (for example, implying that they have already benefited from the “investment”) using certain situational factors, victims are more prone to exhibit behaviors of excessive trust (Langenderfer & Shimp 2001).”

“…externalities, namely, harm to third parties that do not participate in the exchange; and (3) economic power and economic desperation sometimes force people into exchanges that they would not choose otherwise (Arrow 1969; Kahneman 2011; Sandel 2012; Konnikova 2016; Langenderfer and Shimp 2001).”

“Vulnerability to scams has been linked to overconfidence in one’s financial knowledge and factors such as gullibility and scepticism (Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001).”

“In their model on scam susceptibility, Langenderfer and Shimp (2001) discuss how visceral factors like greed, fear, hunger, and desire can produce heuristic, peripheral processing rather than central processing where persuasion messages are evaluated in deliberative and thoughtful manner.”