Financial fraud targeting older adults often involves appeals to emotions like anger, excitement

An appeal to emotions like excitement or anger is a key persuasion tactic used by fraudsters to mislead the elderly.

That’s the key finding in a new report from theStanford Center on Longevity. Excitement and anger – known as “high arousal” emotions – can lead to risky decision-making compared with “low-arousal” emotions, such as feeling depressed, bored or tired.

“When emotionally aroused, either excited or frustrated, older adults may be more susceptible to being victimized by scammers than are younger individuals,” said Ian H. Gotlib, the David Starr Jordan Professor of Psychology and chair of the Stanford Psychology Department.