Professional scammers exploiting outdated verification and authentication technologies are to blame, not consumers
LONDON, June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Callsign, the digital trust pioneer, has published research into the psychology of scams, demonstrating that humans aren’t infallible but technology can help. Estimated to cost the global economy US$5 trillion annually, and despite organizations efforts to warn and educate consumers, scammers continue to be successful.
Detecting scams is hard, and financial institutions and consumer protection groups have attempted to protect consumers with scam warnings and education about the signs to look out for. But with scammers coaching their victims to navigate warning messages and security measures, it’s impossible to rely on just educating victims as a scam prevention method. This is because scams play human fears and create stressed situations. Callsign research mirrors this, finding that four out of five consumers globally have received a scam message. But 50% of Callsign survey respondents claimed it was easy to avoid scams online because it’s ‘common sense’ – the reality is scammers are manipulating victims to act differently.
Psychology studies demonstrate that when people read warnings, they are in what psychologists call a ‘cold state’ – calm and dispassionate, but when they are at risk, they’re in a ‘hot’, stressed or emotional state. In the calm state it is likely people read the warning messages and take note to…
