NCJ Number
226780
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 47 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2009 Pages: 209-215
Date Published
April 2009
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined the extent to which predictors of fraud victimization were the same as the predictors of fraud reporting.
Abstract
The results in terms of reporting of fraud victimization to authorities supported prior research in that there were very few consistent relationships between victim characteristics and reporting behaviors. The analysis also indicated that predictors of victimization were not consistent across specific types of fraud. Simply examining the characteristics of those who are victimized may not be enough; there may be an interaction effect between the characteristics of the victim and the con artist. In the overall global victimization model, findings show that risky behaviors and age were important predictors. The role of risky behavior across the specific fraud types varied. In the global victimization model, risky behavior did play significant role, however in the specific frauds such as auto repair and financial planner fraud, where professionals were involved, risky behavior did not attain significance, nor did any other predictors in the model. Little was revealed regarding the predictors of the official reporting of fraud victimization; the global model revealed that education was the only statistically significant factor in whether or not individuals reported their victimization to authorities. Data were collected using telephone interviews from 375 respondents who were victims of fraud. Tables, notes, references