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From the U.K. Office of Fair Trading:
Why people fall victim to scams – OFT research
54/09 17 May 2009
The psychological reasons consumers may fall victim to mass marketed scams are revealed today in groundbreaking OFT research.
Download The psychology of scams: Provoking and committing errors of judgement (pdf 3.3 mb)
The research, undertaken by The University of Exeter on behalf of the OFT, provides a valuable insight into why consumers fall victim to scams, as well as the psychological techniques used by scammers to con the UK public out of an estimated £3.5 billion every year.
Some of the key findings about victims of scams are that:
The research also found that many scams use a range of highly persuasive techniques. A common tactic is to seek to exploit basic human emotions such as excitement or fear to provoke a spontaneous 'gut reaction' to the scam offer. Such scams also abuse people's trust of authority by making a scam look like a legitimate offer from a reputable business or official institution.
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/today?prid=633536
54/09 17 May 2009
The psychological reasons consumers may fall victim to mass marketed scams are revealed today in groundbreaking OFT research.
Download The psychology of scams: Provoking and committing errors of judgement (pdf 3.3 mb)
The research, undertaken by The University of Exeter on behalf of the OFT, provides a valuable insight into why consumers fall victim to scams, as well as the psychological techniques used by scammers to con the UK public out of an estimated £3.5 billion every year.
Some of the key findings about victims of scams are that:
- up to 20 per cent of the UK population could be particularly vulnerable to scams, with previous victims of a scam consistently more likely to show interest in responding again
- a good background knowledge of the subject of a scam offer, such as experience of investments, may actually increase the risk of becoming a victim through 'over-confidence'
- victims are not in general poor-decision makers, for example they may have successful business or professional careers, but tend to be unduly open to persuasion by others and less able to control their emotions, and
- victims often keep their decision to respond to a scam offer private and avoid speaking about it with family or friends.
The research also found that many scams use a range of highly persuasive techniques. A common tactic is to seek to exploit basic human emotions such as excitement or fear to provoke a spontaneous 'gut reaction' to the scam offer. Such scams also abuse people's trust of authority by making a scam look like a legitimate offer from a reputable business or official institution.
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/today?prid=633536