Monitor on Psychology - February 2013

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?