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A Brain-Based Explanation For Why Old People Get Scammed

Posted by timothy on from the this-story-won't-fool-my-dad-of-course dept.

sciencehabit writes "Despite long experience with the ways of the world, older people are especially vulnerable to fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission, up to 80% of scam victims are over 65. One explanation may lie in a brain region that serves as a built-in crook detector. Called the anterior insula, this structure — which fires up in response to the face of an unsavory character — is less active in older people, possibly making them less cagey than younger folks, a new study finds."

1 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I prefer to think they deserve it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    many states let their citizens nominate issues and vote on them ("ballot initiatives") - that's how weed got legalized, after all. other states let people vote on referendums which work in a similar way.

    voting for representatives is a good thing because it explicitly AVOIDS direct democracy for fear of tyranny of the majority. this is also a good thing. rather than just having millions of potentially uninformed voters cast ballots on every single issue, we elect smart people to discuss the issues and represent us as best as possible.

    at least, that's how it's supposed to work. the states elect a LOT of idiots, but it's still a better system than any other.