NCJ Number
190955
Date Published
June 2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on data from a large Australian survey of older persons' criminal victimization, with attention to older peoples' risk of being victimized by consumer fraud.
Abstract
The survey, which was conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology in April 2000, was conducted in conjunction with the Australian component of the International Crime Victims Survey. It involved a sample size of 3,032 respondents, of whom 1,246 people were aged 65 years and over. The focus on fraud in this paper pertains to consumer victimization that may occur when someone is selling something or delivering services. It includes such areas as commercial transactions (telemarketing, Internet sales, door-to-door sales, and mail orders); home repairs and home construction; buying and servicing vehicles; and financial transactions. The survey found that consumer fraud was a problem of almost equal proportions for both older and younger people; however, among older people, consumer fraud was 2.2 times more prevalent than assault, which was the most common of the violent offenses. Educating the public and law enforcement agencies about consumer fraud and its prevention is critical. An integrated effort between all agencies involved with older people, including law enforcement, would ensure that crimes are timely reported, thoroughly investigated, appropriately charged and prosecuted, and that the victims are protected from further exploitation. A 21-item bibliography