Abstract
An unexpected finding within the financial literacy debate centres on the relationship between financial literacy levels and fraud victimisation. It has often been assumed that increasing financial literacy levels would also act as a protective factor for individuals falling victim to financial and investment fraud. While some support for this assumption has been found (for example, Gamble et al, 2012; Lusardi, 2012), a number of researchers have in fact reported that financial literacy is associated with higher levels of victimisation (NASD, 2006; American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 2007, 2008, 2011; Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), 2012). The NASD Investor Education Foundation (now FINRA Investor Education Foundation), concluded that ‘financial literacy programs are necessary but probably not sufficient to prevent fraud’ (NASD, 2006, p. 6). This represents a major challenge for the financial literacy agenda.
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Drew, J.M., Cross, C. (2016). Fraud and its PREY: Conceptualising Social Engineering Tactics and its Impact on Financial Literacy Outcomes. In: Harrison, T. (eds) Financial Literacy and the Limits of Financial Decision-Making. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30886-9_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30886-9_16
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