interesting tid-bit on consumer debt
I've been doing some research on fraud for work. (It's a long story.) So I've been learning about telemarketing scams, investment/stock scams, health care fraud, and all types of other goodies. (Most of the stuff you see is a scam, it's true!) Anyway, we all know that senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to telemarketing scams, right? Someone calls them on the phone and preys on their desire to leave a lot of money to their family, and the scam artist gets the victim to give up his/her life savings in order to make money. But, whoops!, it's a scam, and Grammy and Grampy have just lost their entire life savings. T- you wrote a story about this, didn't you?
Well, it seems, from a 2004 report by the Federal Trade Commission, that seniors are the least likely to get taken in by fraudulent telemarketers. The people most at risk? Well, minorities are. But more interestingly, it is those who are burdened with an uncomfortable level of debt. As we are forced to increasingly rely on consumer credit in an effort to live during our wages race to the bottom, we become increasingly at risk of falling prey to get-rich-quick schemes.
Another determining factor was people who expected their income to change drastically in the upcoming year, either an increase or reduction.
What does this say about our culture?
Well, it seems, from a 2004 report by the Federal Trade Commission, that seniors are the least likely to get taken in by fraudulent telemarketers. The people most at risk? Well, minorities are. But more interestingly, it is those who are burdened with an uncomfortable level of debt. As we are forced to increasingly rely on consumer credit in an effort to live during our wages race to the bottom, we become increasingly at risk of falling prey to get-rich-quick schemes.
Another determining factor was people who expected their income to change drastically in the upcoming year, either an increase or reduction.
What does this say about our culture?