How Not to Fall Victim to Scammers

What mental frames make you more likely to fall for a scam? PennyGem’s Elizabeth Keatinge explains.

Transcript

00:00There's a ton of scams out there, so don't make it any easier for thieves to prey on

00:08you.

00:09Well, a study from FINRA Investor Education Foundation, the Better Business Bureau Institute

00:14for Marketplace Trust, and the University of Minnesota shows that certain attitudes

00:19can influence your likelihood to fall for scams.

00:23The two-year study shows that individuals were more likely to lose money to financial

00:28scammers if they believed that authority should not be challenged.

00:33If you believe financial opportunities are a zero-sum game with clear winners and losers,

00:38you may be more likely to fall for fraudulent opportunities.

00:41Do you believe the world is organized to reward good people?

00:44Well, that's too bad, because that was another mental frame that may make you more likely

00:50to lose money.

00:52If you think asking too many questions can make a person seem ignorant, a scammer may

00:56have an easier time scamming you.

00:59The researchers spoke with 17 people who were targeted by scammers.

01:03They also interviewed two young men who worked from an overseas call center to defraud hundreds

01:08of people using an IRS scam.