NASD
Foundation study examines what makes elderly susceptible
to investment fraud
Washington, D.C.—
The NASD Investor Education Foundation, in cooperation with WISE
Senior Services and AARP Foundation, released a study that looks at
why certain elderly investors are more susceptible to investment
fraud than others, exposes the various tactics used by criminals to
exploit seniors and offers strategies to help seniors avoid becoming
victims. The report -
Off the Hook Again: Understanding Why the Elderly Are Victimized by
Economic Fraud Crimes - was
unveiled at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Seniors Summit
in Washington, D.C.
"With the numerous financial scams
that continue to evolve and the variety of fraud tactics being used,
the NASD Investor Education Foundation is committed to expanding its
investor education efforts to help seniors protect the assets
they've worked a lifetime to acquire," said Robert R. Glauber,
Chairman of the NASD Investor Education Foundation, who also serves
as Chairman & CEO of NASD. "The research results dispel common myths
about who's actually being targeted and offers effective strategies
on how seniors can avoid these costly financial traps."
Researchers for the project
analyzed undercover tapes of fraud pitches and surveyed victims and
non-victims to determine how they differ. The researchers used their
findings to develop practical messages to increase fraud awareness
among seniors.
Some of the key research findings
include:
-
Investment fraud victims are more financially literate than
non-victims;
-
Investment fraud criminals use a wide array of different
influence tactics—from friendship to fear and intimidation
tactics—to defraud the victim;
-
Fraud pitches are tailored to match the psychological needs of
the victim;
-
Investment fraud victims are more likely to listen to sales
pitches;
-
Investment fraud victims are more likely to rely on their own
experience and knowledge when making investment decisions;
-
Fraud victims experience more difficulties from negative life
events than non-victims;
-
Investment fraud victims are more optimistic about the future;
-
Investment fraud and lottery victims dramatically under-report
fraud.
"WISE Senior Services is proud to
be part of this study with the NASD Investor Education Foundation
and AARP Foundation," noted Grace Cheng Braun, President & CEO of
WISE. "This research is very valuable in helping us to more
effectively tailor our educational outreach to seniors regarding
financial fraud."
Arguing that teaching investors
only the nuts and bolts of investing is not enough, the report
recommends expanding financial literacy and fraud prevention
programs to include information about how persuasion tactics work.
Other recommendations include encouraging seniors to report such
crimes to securities regulators, conducting more research to test
the efficacy of persuasion education and further studying resistance
to persuasion in the context of "free seminar" settings where
aggressive salespeople so often make their pitches.
To review an executive
summary of the full report or to access an audio file of real-life
fraud pitches, visit
www.nasdfoundation.org . For more information
about saving for retirement, investors can access NASD's online
learning center about 401(k)s at www.nasd.com/investor. Investors
will also find information in these NASD Investor Alerts online:
Variable Annuities:
Beyond the Hard Sell; Should You Exchange Your Life Insurance
Policy?; Equity-Indexed Annuities-A Complex Choice; Should You
Exchange Your Variable Annuity?; and Stock Spams and Scams.
Investors can obtain more
information about, and the disciplinary record of, any NASD-registered
broker or brokerage firm by using NASD's BrokerCheck. NASD makes
BrokerCheck available at no charge to the public. In 2005, members
of the public used this service to conduct more than 4.3 million
searches for existing brokers or firms and requested more than
194,000 reports in cases where disclosable information existed on a
broker or firm. Investors can link directly to BrokerCheck at
www.nasdbrokercheck.com. Investors can also
access this service by calling 1-800-289-9999.
The NASD Investor Education
Foundation, established in 2003, supports innovative research and
educational projects that give investors the tools they need to
better understand the markets and the basic principles of financial
planning. The Foundation has awarded more than $4.5 million in total
to organizations for educational programs and research projects
targeting the underserved segments of the population. For details
about grant programs and other new initiatives of the Foundation,
visit
www.nasdfoundation.org.
NASD is the leading private-sector provider of financial regulatory
services, dedicated to investor protection and market integrity
through effective and efficient regulation. NASD believes that
understanding should precede investing - and that education is often
the best form of investor protection. NASD's broad range of investor
education programs include Investor Alerts, brochures and online
resource guides on such critical topics as mutual fund class shares
and 401(k) and college savings plans. This information is
distributed through its Web site,
www.nasd.com, printed materials and Investor
Forums.