right or if they’re telling you, “You’ve
got to move right now.” Again, that’s a
pitch I’ve seen in legitimate marketing
concepts, too, but we want to teach
people that it’s probably good to walk
away at that point and think about it.
Another tip is noticing when you find
yourself aroused emotionally. It may be
positive or it may be negative, but either
way, that’s a good time to walk. In fact,
that’s another research project that the
center has just recently awarded a grant to
investigate: Are people more susceptible to
a scam when they’re excited and positively
aroused, or suspicious and fearful and
negatively aroused?
the window. There are different kinds
of victims for different kinds of fraud
activity. It’s an incredibly nuanced area,
so the solutions are not one size fits all.
There’s one more thing that we’re
interested in: Where are the best places
to get out the information? Who are
the best sources of providing these
prevention services? Is it somebody like
AARP or some other expert agency?
That’s something that we’re interested in
pursuing.
What should psychologists know
about this problem?
Carstensen: I’ve learned there’s not an
obvious group or person in individuals’
lives that you can turn to for complete
assurance that they’re going to have
your best interest at heart. What an
awful lot of people say to older adults in
particular is that if they’re going to make
a financial investment, they should talk
to their adult children first. And it turns
out that adult children are right up there
near the top of the list of people who
would be potential perpetrators of fraud.
I think what we need to do is think
about what is the optimal, ideal sort of
people who can help protect all of our
interests. Maybe it’s having a triad together
— a professional person, a family member
and somebody else who might have
expertise in these issues. Together you
might get some reassurance that you’re
making a good choice in cases where
people might be especially vulnerable.
Deevy: I think the idea that there is
either one profile of the victim or one
solution to preventing fraud from being
perpetrated needs to sort of go out
As you learn more about fraud,
how do you draw the line
between being gullible and being
paranoid?
Carstensen: I feel like the more familiar
I am with fraud, the more I feel like
we’re all victims in waiting. We will all
very likely be victims at some point, and
we’ll probably never know that we’re
victims. We’ll send something off to
some charitable organization that sent
you a pitch and you don’t know — you
never will know — that that was just a
cover for a criminal operation. It will
happen. And the question is: How do
we avoid it happening in a way that
seriously harms our lives?
Understanding fraud
Thinkstock
To get an inside look at the tactics used by con artists, watch
the AARP video “Weapons of Fraud.”