How vulnerable are older people to online scams?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-09-23 01:00

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An international experiment has shown around one in six older people may fall for a scam or fraud without any scepticism. The researchers crafted a fake scam, framed as a fictitious government agency reaching out about a potential data leak of personal details, and contacted 644 people involved in an aging study with an average age of 85.6 to see how they would respond. The researchers say 68.5% of the group ignored the scam, 15.1% engaged but were sceptical, and 16.4% fell for the scam entirely. The researchers say even those without any specific cognitive impairment had a risk of falling for the scam.

Media release

From: JAMA

Vulnerability of Older Adults to Government Impersonation Scams

About The Study: In this study using a behavioral experiment designed to mimic a real-world imposter scam among 644 older adults, a sizable number of older adults engaged without skepticism. The results suggest that many older adults, including those without cognitive impairment, are vulnerable to fraud and scams.

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Research JAMA, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Rush University Medical Center, USA

Funder: The study was funded, in part, by grants R01AG17917, R01AG33678, and R01AG34374 from the National Institute on Aging. It also received funding from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

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