Financial Fraud and Deception in Aging

Abstract

Financial exploitation among older adults is a significant concern with often devastating consequences for individuals and society. Deception plays a critical role in financial exploitation, and detecting deception is challenging, especially for older adults. Susceptibility to deception in older adults is heightened by age-related changes in cognition, such as declines in processing speed and working memory, as well as socioemotional factors, including positive affect and social isolation. Additionally, neurobiological changes with age, such as reduced cortical volume and altered functional connectivity, are associated with declining deception detection and increased risk for financial exploitation among older adults. Furthermore, characteristics of deceptive messages, such as personal relevance and framing, as well as visual cues such as faces, can influence deception detection. Understanding the multifaceted factors that contribute to deception risk in aging is crucial for developing interventions and strategies to protect older adults from financial exploitation. Tailored approaches, including age-specific warnings and harmonizing artificial intelligence as well as human-centered approaches, can help mitigate the risks and protect older adults from fraud.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s Disease; aging; brain structure/function; cognitive decline; deception detection; decision making; elder maltreatment; financial exploitation; fraud; socioemotional function.

Figure 1.

Schematic conceptual framework that considers interindividual differences in cognitive, socioemotional, and neurobiological influences in their interplay with characteristics of deceptive contexts on susceptibility to deception and exploitation risk.