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FTC says robocalls complaints down over 50% since 2021
Useful research on consumer education needed! Many of us spend much time and resources developing consumer education materials, and it would be great to find things that make those more effective. Professor Anthony Pratkanis has compiled and conducted research showing that consumers simply don’t pay attention to most warnings or, worse, become defensive and shut them down. The FTC has tried to combat this with their “pass it on” campaign, directed to tell people they are educating them not to make them afraid but instead to educate themselves so they can help their friends, families, and neighbors avoid frauds. Anthony’s idea is to empower people to become fraud fighters. But he says there hasn’t been research to examine this approach and show it is more effective. Anyone interested in taking this on?
Online shopping. We are rapidly approaching the holiday shopping season, and online shopping is close to the top of the list of scams consumers file complaints about. So be careful, and this is a place where consumer education can do a great deal of good. So stay on the information superhighway, avoid dodgy sites on social media, and file complaints if ripped off.
WSJ: Fraud with paper checks was up 400% last year
