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Efforts to reduce consumer fraud victimization among the elderly
The effect of information access on program awareness and contact
Mears, DP., Reisig, MD., Scaggs, S., & Holtfreter, K. (2015). Efforts to reduce consumer fraud victimization among the elderly: The effect of information access on program awareness and contact. Crime and Delinquency, 62, 1235-1259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128714555759
Concern about the risk of consumer fraud victimization among the elderly has led to programs that disseminate fraud prevention information and provide services. However, little is known about how seniors access such information or learn about or contact these programs. Drawing on scholarship on fraud, media consumption, and the fear of crime, this study contributes to efforts to understand and reduce consumer fraud victimization. Analyses of data from adults age 60 and above demonstrate that certain segments of the elderly population access a greater variety of information sources to learn about fraud prevention. In turn, such access is associated with greater fraud prevention program awareness and contact.
