Forewarning Reduces Fraud Susceptibility in Vulnerable Consumers
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Telemarketing fraud is pervasive, and older consumers are disproportionally targeted. We conducted a field experiment to test whether forewarning could protect people who were victimized in the past. A telemarketer pitched a mock scam 2 or 4 weeks after participants were warned about the same scam or an entirely different scam. Both warnings reduced unequivocal acceptance of the mock scam although outright refusals (as opposed to expressions of skepticism) were more frequent with the same scam warning than the different scam warning. The same scam warning, but not the different scam warning, lost effectiveness over time.
Authors: Susanne Scheibe, Nanna Notthoff, Josephine Menkin, Lee Ross, Doug Shadel, Martha Deevy, Laura L. Carstensen
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2123268192