Scammers have hundreds of sophisticated tricks up their sleeves, and millions of people become victims every year. It can, and does, happen to just about anyone. But even though anyone can become a victim, studies have shown that certain people are more at risk than others.
Characteristics of Fraud Victims
Overconfident: How confident are you that you won’t be a victim of fraud? Well, if you are highly confident, that might not be a good thing. Some people have trained and studied on how to avoid scams. Other people have never trained or studied, but they just have a natural confidence that they can outsmart the con artists. Which type of person do you think is less likely to become a victim? It pays to know your limitations and to be skeptical of things that you don’t understand.
Isolation: Geographic or social isolation increases the changes that someone will become a victim of fraud or undue influence. If we have a limited pool of trusted friends, family members, and business acquaintances with whom we interact on a regular basis, then there is a great likelihood that an untrusted individual will be able to influence our decisions.
Prior Victims: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me? It’s a popular saying, but statistically, the odds of being a repeat victim are high, and it can be much harder for repeat victims to avoid scams. One of the reasons that it can be difficult to avoid being a repeat victim is that you are far more likely to be targeted after the first scam. Scammers may share lists of victims with other scammers, and the results are usually an increased volume and sophistication of subsequent scams.
Minimizing Future Risks
These are just a few of the characteristics that make a person more likely to be a victim of fraud. Luckily, there are ways to minimize the risks and decrease your chances of becoming a victim in the future. Educating yourself, finding support, and increasing your skepticism about things outside your area of expertise are good ways to get started.
To learn more about how Guide Change can help you reduce your risks of fraud, please contact us or request a free trial.