Loneliness

One of the factors that contribute to people responding to scams is loneliness. 17% of older people are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week. For some people, their only form of social contact comes from the scam communications they receive. In some cases strong relationships can develop between the victims and perpetrators of financial scams who maintain a high level of contact to keep the victim responding to the scam.

Responding to the quantity of calls and mail can become an administrative job that provides routine and purpose, which may be highly valued by the scam victim whose time would otherwise be unstructured. A sense of a personal relationship with the criminal often develops, and the value of this relationship to the victim may outweigh any potential financial cost of the scam. Lonely people have fewer opportunities to meet with others to discuss finances or scams and are therefore unable to check with a trusted contact whether an offer, or relationship, is genuine.