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Why are older adults victims of fraud? Current knowledge and prospects regarding older adults’ vulnerability to fraud
Abstract
Older adults are disproportionately targeted by various kinds of fraud, which result in irreversible economic losses and great psychological distress. Over the past years, researchers have conducted systematic research on the prevalence, under-reporting, and research methods of fraud victimization in older adults. Research paradigms regarding fraud victimization among older adults have mainly included cognitive, emotion regulation and motivation, and comprehensive paradigms. Factors shown to influence fraud victimization among older adults include cognitive decline, emotional regulation and motivational changes, their overly trusting nature, psychological vulnerability, social isolation, risk-taking, and a lack of knowledge and information regarding fraud prevention. Based on a review of the literature, future research can benefit from constructing a comprehensive fraud victimization theory, improving research methods, extending existing research, exploring physiological mechanisms of elderly fraud, and strengthening prevention and intervention efforts.
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“According to research, most scam victims do not have dementia (James et al. 2014), although cognitive decline may apply (DeLiema et al. 2020; Shao et al. 2019).”
From “If We Don’t Listen to Them, We Make Them Lose More than Money:” Exploring Reasons for Underreporting and the Needs of Older Scam Victims (2023) · cites this paper as Shao et al. 2019
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Metadata
- Authors
- Shao, J., Zhang, Q., Ren, Y., Li, X., & Lin, T.
- Affiliations
- Southwest University (CN)
- Shaanxi Normal University (CN)
- University of Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shao, Jingjin
- Venue
- Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-05-27
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 225-243
- ISSN
- 0894-6566 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-4129
- OpenAlex
- W2948356543
- Cited by
- 151
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 11
- FWCI
- 21.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Social Science Fund of China (16BSH101)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Social Sciences › Law › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- fraud victimization, older adults, fraud susceptibility, cognitive decline, emotion regulation, trust, social isolation, fraud prevention
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aging, Elder Abuse, Fraud, Humans, Crime Victims
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