Social isolation, loneliness, and general trust as risk factors for special fraud: A comparative study of grandparent scam victims and detectors

Abstract

In this study, we compared victims and detectors of grandparent scam, focusing on the following risk factors for victims of special fraud: recognition of fraud tactics, social isolation, loneliness, and general trust. Sixty five victims of grandparent scam and seventy one detectors were analyzed. The results of logistic regression analysis suggested that lack of knowledge of the tactics of the grandparent scam and the legal fee scam may increase the probability of becoming a victim. It was also confirmed that the probability of victimization increased the less people one went to events and meetings with in one’s residential area and the higher one’s sense of loneliness, indicating the influence of not only social isolation indicators but also subjective indicators such as loneliness. The results also indicated the influence of subjective indicators such as loneliness as well as objective social isolation indicators such as the number of people who go to events and meetings together in the residential area. Furthermore, even in Japan, where general trust is lower than in the U.S. and China, general trust in others was found to increase the likelihood of becoming a victim of special fraud.