Bubbles, Scams & CrashesFraud

Smart People Don't Get Scammed

Young adults report losing money to fraud more often than older ones

Scams catch the naive and the clueless, right? The FTC's numbers and a study of real victims tell a very different story.

You'll find out

  • Which age loses money most often
  • Whose losses are biggest
  • How much fraud victims know

Why it matters

Believing you're too sharp to be fooled is a scammer's favorite opening. The real numbers take that comfort away.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 131 · Zone 15

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More in this zone

  1. 127BubblesWhat a Bubble IsWhen prices float far above what things are worth
  2. 128FraudThe Ponzi ShapeOld investors are paid with new investors' money
  3. 129Crashes25 Years to Get BackThe Dow didn't reclaim its 1929 peak until 1954
  4. 130FraudRed Flags of a ScamGuaranteed, urgent, secret
  5. 132Market ManipulationPump and DumpHype a stock, sell it to the crowd, disappear
  6. 133CrowdsTulip ManiaDutch traders bid single tulip bulbs up to fantasy prices, though the crash was smaller than the legend says
  7. 134HerdingFollowing the HerdWe trust a crowd even when it's wrong
  8. 135Fraud HistoryPonzi Wasn't FirstA Boston woman ran the same scheme 40 years earlier