How to protect your future self from fraud
Marti DeLiema, PhD, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, gave an outstanding presentation on "Emerging trends in consumer scams and keeping your finances safe from exploitation” for UMRA’s Living Well Workshop on March 21.
Her presentation was interesting, useful, informative, and sobering, and was followed by an excellent Q and A session with those attending the Zoom webinar hosted by the Retirees Association. “This is not just a story about aging,” Dr. DeLiema noted in her opening remarks. However, financial literacy—the ability to manage money, credit, investments, and insurance— declines as people age, while confidence among many older adults in their financial literacy remains high, and actually increases in some after age 75.
Watch a video recording of the UMRA webinar with Dr. Marti DeLiema.
How can you support a victim of fraud? DeLiema, an interdisciplinary gerontologist, offered eight suggestions; the two most important are to avoid judgment and listen empathetically. In other words, don’t blame the victim. “Let’s not forget the role of the scammer,” DeLiema said. They are very good at what they do.
DeLiema also shared information about a free resource available online for how to protect your future self from fraud. You can download or order a print copy of the Thinking Ahead Roadmap by using the camera on your smartphone to scan the QR code in the photo accompanying this article.
— Lynn C. Anderson, UMRA representative to the Age-Friendly University of Minnesota Council
How to protect your finances from consumer scams and fraud
Tue, March 21 2023, 11am
Marti DeLiema
Assistant Professor
U of M School of Social Work
Event to be held via Zoom.
Marti DeLiema, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, will share research on the latest trends in consumer scams and fraud for UMRA’s March 21 Living Well Workshop via Zoom. Her talk will describe how fraud criminals use emotional arousal and other persuasion tactics to mislead consumers, and the recent methods they are using to deceive people into transferring money.
She will also summarize research on how cognitive aging presents unique risks for older adults, and how we can better support those who have experienced a scam. The webinar will conclude with information on how to better protect our finances from exploitation as we age.
An important component of aging well is avoiding financial abuse and fraud, yet victimization causes millions of Americans to become financially fragile in older age. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, DeLiema, an interdisciplinary gerontologist, studies financial victimization using focus groups, in-depth interviews, surveys, and panel data.
She regularly collaborates with financial institutions, AARP, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation, and federal protection agencies to analyze victimization risk factors and to test efforts to inoculate consumers from fraud and abuse through enhanced consumer education and advance care planning interventions. Her research is funded by the National Institute of Justice, the National Institute on Aging, the Social Security Administration, the Society of Actuaries, AARP, and the FINRA Foundation.
Prior to joining the School of Social Work, DeLiema was a research scholar at the Stanford Center on Longevity. She graduated with her doctorate from the USC School of Gerontology, where she conducted research on elder abuse and neglect in minoritized communities, evaluated outcomes of a multidisciplinary team’s response to elder abuse, and analyzed the tactics scam artists use to deceive older adults.
Please register and join this important discussion starting at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 21.
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