“Investigating Fraud and Financial Exploitation in Minnesota”
Carrie Binder, a graduate student researcher at the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work, is the guest of host Bill Raker. Carrie is one of two graduate student researchers evaluating Minnesota’s “Safe Seniors Financial Protection Act” in this somewhat unique school program. Carrie explains the motivation for the research project, the data-gathering and analysis: Minnesotans lost $62.5 million to scammers in 2021. Impostor scams are the most reported type of fraud; she describes how such schemes work and how to avoid them. Carrie emphasizes that research shows that education and awareness of scams can reduce susceptibility to financial fraud. Carrie’s work involves assessing the financial losses and also the mental and emotional impact of being victimized by a scammer.
