Elder Fraud in China: Understanding Risks, Methods, and Prevention Strategies

China has an aging population, and studies have shown that older Chinese adults are more susceptible to experiencing fraud victimization. Despite the increased vulnerability of older Chinese adults, there is sparse research that has applied a mixed-methods approach to documenting the factors that influence victimization and the impacts of experiencing victimization in this population. This article examines the risks and impacts of fraud victimization on older adults using a mixed-methods approach, including an online survey with 61 respondents and seven semi-structured interviews. Findings from this study identified fake product consumption/treatment scams, false online investment and financial management fraud, online shopping scams, and impersonation fraud as the most common types of fraud experienced by older adults in China. Results also showed that online and in-person contact methods are commonly used by scammers. Risk factors identified in this study included younger age among older adults, lower education level, lower income, beneficial temptation, trust in acquaintances, and lack of access to fraud information. Among these, beneficial temptation and lack of access to information were the most commonly reported risk factors. This study also found that fraud victimization can lead to various emotional consequences and health-related distress for elderly victims. Based on these results, strategies for prevention and intervention at the policy and interpersonal level are proposed. These include stronger government regulation of third party platforms, investments in prevention programming, and encouraging older adults to expand their sources of information about fraud prevention and response, maintain a healthy sense of inquisitiveness and skepticism, and seek help from third parties if necessary.