Brains and Losses: Part II

From tech support scams to fake sweepstakes, fraudsters exploit victims’ vulnerabilities to get access to bank accounts. We meet an active 79-year-old women in New Jersey, who was bilked out of $200,000 after a caller gained access to her computer. Could the aging brain make us more susceptible to falling for scams?

Brains and Losses: The Bottom Line on Aging and Financial Vulnerability is a project from Marketplace that explores research on how the aging brain may become more susceptible to financial scams. Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio’s reporting on this topic took him across the country to meet alleged fraud victims and their families and covers scientific and legal research.