Dr. Louise Taylor, Dr. Jan Bailey, & Dr. Charlotte Eost- Telling The Vagaries of Scams

WHAT IS A SCAM? Definition: A misleading or deceptive business practice where you receive an unsolicited or uninvited contact (for example by , letter, phone or ad) and false promises are made to con you out of money. (Office of Fair Trading - UK 2006)

Defining ‘scam’

cont;

SCAMS

Typology of scams

Vagaries of SCAMs Crime (suggestio falsi) suggestion of falsehood ? Crime (supressio veri) suppression of truth Blatant scams Clairvoyants Prize draws Coercive selling PPI Charity funding Moral panic

The “new vulnerability”: older people Circa four million people are scammed in Great Britain (2014) = £3.5 billion Older people are no more likely to be scammed than any other group BUT They lose more money when they are scammed.

Preliminary understanding of the field ! Criminology – focus on fraudulent activity and the scammer (micro focus) e.g. Criminology & Criminal Justice; Journal of Financial Crime Psychology – visceral processing and character traits (micro focus) e.g. Journal of Applied Social Psychology; The Journal of Behavioral Finance & Economics Technology - International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research

Victim Potential/no vulnerabilities Sociological contribution Macro level lens Gender Bereavement Capacity Risk taking Loneliness Social isolation Victim blamingAbsence of political ownership Safeguarding

absented Agency? Social StructuresAgency Mail order companies Banks Postal service Phone companies Public health intervention

Long-serving British poppy-​seller died after being ‘tormented’ by cold-callers (The Guardian )

“ Dementia sufferer, 84, conned into filling his home with hundreds of useless products” (Plymouth Herald )

“Veneered legitimisation” Moral panic Deserving/undeserving victim Government legislation – minimum response, utility?

Policy implications Continuing research & dissemination Legitimation through the lens of sociology of health Curricula design Pressure groups Legislation