title: Forewarning reduces fraud susceptibility in vulnerable consumers.
abstract: Telemarketing fraud is pervasive and older consumers are disproportionally targeted. Given laboratory research showing that forewarning can effectively counter influence appeals, we conducted a field experiment to test whether forewarning could protect people who had been victimized in the past. A research assistant with prior experience as a telemarketer pitched a mock scam two or four 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 thesame scamwarning than thedifferent scamwarning. Thesame scamwarning, but not thedifferent scamwarning, lost effectiveness over time. Findings demonstrate that social psychological research can inform effective protection strategies against telemarketing fraud.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scheibe
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California - Berkeley.
authors.forename: Nanna
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Notthoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California - Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Josephine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: AARP Washington.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shadel
authors.affiliation: Stanford Center on Longevity, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deevy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University ; Stanford Center on Longevity, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Carstensen
keywords: Telemarketing fraud; aging; decision making; forewarning; prevention