Dr Jan Bailey, Dr Louise Taylor

&

Professor Paul Kingston

THE AGE OF THE “SCAMMER”NEW VULNERABILITIES FOR

AN AGEING SOCIETY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

SCAMS

• Definition:

A misleading or deceptive business practice where you receive an unsolicited or uninvited contact (for example by email, letter, phone or ad) and false promises are made to con you out of money. (Office of Fair Trading - UK 2006)

SCAMS

VAGARIES OF SCAMS

Crime (suggestio falsi) suggestion of falsehood

? Crime (supressio veri) suppression of truth

Blatant scamsClairvoyantsPrize draws

Coercive sellingPPICharity funding

Moral panic

THE “NEW VULNERABILITY”: OLDER PEOPLE

• Circa four million people are scammed in Great Britain (2014) = £3.5 billion

• Older people are no more likely to be scammed than any other group

BUT

• They lose more money when they are scammed.

PRELIMINARY UNDERSTANDING OF THE FIELD!• Criminology – focus on fraudulent activity and the

scammer (micro focus) e.g. Criminology & Criminal Justice; Journal of Financial Crime

• Psychology – visceral processing and character traits (micro focus) e.g. Journal of Applied Social Psychology; The Journal of Behavioral Finance & Economics

• Technology - International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research

VictimPotential/no

vulnerabilities

SOCIOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONMACRO LEVEL LENS

Gender

Bereavement

CapacityRisk taking

Loneliness

Social isolation

Victim blamingAbsence of political ownership Safeguarding

“

“DEMENTIA SUFFERER, 84, CONNED INTO FILLING HIS HOME WITH HUNDREDS OF USELESS PRODUCTS” (PLYMOUTH HERALD 3.6.2015)

EVALUATION OF A SCAM REDUCTION INTERVENTION

• One public health department intervention

• Pre and post test intervention study

• Narrative approach due to perceived sensitivities

• Small-scale pilot study (n=15)

• Sample drawn by public health from known (?) scam victims

• Initial findings are emerging

EXAMPLES OF SCAMS IN OUR STUDY

• Fake prize draws

• Fake lotteries

• Premium rate telephone prize

• Miracle health cures

• Inheritance fraud

• Advance fee fraud

• Clairvoyant/psychic mailing

FINDINGS – TYPOLOGY OF VICTIM

• Gender

• Living arrangements

• Relationship status

• Risk taking behaviour

• Cohort effect – gender role?

PSYCHO-SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES

• Family tensions “My sister knows nothing about it. I won’t tell her, she’d go mad.” “Have you never spoken to your sister about the post?” “No. No I wouldn’t, she’d go mad…”

• Shame/embarrassment “I’ve got to admit, to my embarrassment, I did get conned about 3 years ago.”

• Mental health issues “It really does affect your mind, believe me it does...while this has been going on I’ve just lost enthusiasm (for hobbies) it does really affect you and I never thought it would”

et al…

• Fear of future loss “Because I’m getting older and you get to think “my mind is starting to go” so I think (laughs) that I might get sort of conned”.

• Fear of falling “The phone calls are the worst, because we have to get up and answer the phone and with (name) as unsteady as she is, it’s not good.”

• Financial problems – inability to pay fuel and housing bills

HOWEVER ….

• Gives structure to the day

• Social connectivity

• Infrequent success! (intermittent reward, Skinner 1936)

• Identity (Continuity Theory, Atchley 1989)

ABSENTED AGENCY?

Social StructuresAgency

Mail order companiesBanksPostal

service

Phone companies

Public health intervention

LONG-SERVING BRITISH POPPY- SELLER DIED AFTER BEING ‘TORMENTED’ BY COLD-CALLERS (THE GUARDIAN 14.5.2015)

“VENEERED LEGITIMISATION”

• Moral panic

• Deserving/undeserving victim

• Government legislation – minimum response, utility?

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

• Continuing research & dissemination

• Legitimation through the lens of sociology of health

• Curricula design

• Pressure groups

• Legislation