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Why are seniors vulnerable to scam artists?

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    John Roberts reports from Atlanta

  • Duration 2:25
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We -- -- the heartbreaking stories of seniors who get taken in by scam artists so why are they so vulnerable.

A new study now suggests it may have to do an essential part of the brain.

John Roberts live on that out of Atlanta what's this all about John good morning.

-- bill good morning -- how many people listen up how did mom or dad or grandma and grandpa get taken in and scam by unscrupulous home repair guy -- and -- -- direct -- advertisement -- researchers at UCLA -- It has less to do with age related cognitive decline and more to do with.

How are emotional perception of things changes as we get older.

Take a look at what they said happens here in the brain it's an area -- the insular cortex particularly specifically the region that has to do with the emotional reaction of disgust.

They took two groups of people one age average age 23 the other average age 68 they showed them pictures of people who looked untrustworthy.

Kind of Stevie if you will and here's what happened when the put those people into an MRI machine.

In the younger group of people their brains in this area that registers discussed lit up like a stop sign whereas in older people.

The -- didn't register at all those.

Untrustworthy looking people look just like everybody else.

Chief researcher on the Shelley Taylor says as we get older we lose that gut reaction that tells us -- something's wrong here.

If you're not getting that -- signal it's not figuring into your decision making and so you could falsely believe.

That took a picture of some kind is a good one when in fact it's really -- -- younger adult would have no difficulty seeing that.

And professor Taylor's got personal experience with -- -- her late father got taken in for 171000.

Dollars in a financial scam in her aunt.

-- diamonds on the Internet as a hedge against inflation and guess what bill.

They were diamonds they were glass -- back wow what what does this all star John what do they say.

Unfortunately bill it begins to start in your early fifties in fact the optimal target.

For a financial scam is a seasoned investor about age 55 who just doesn't get that few.

That something is amiss here and researchers say with with people living longer and more more people having to manage the retirement now for decades.

That this is going to be a much bigger problem going forward particularly with that baby boom bubble now entering the retirement age right in that sweet spot.

For being vulnerable to these scans a fascinating story thanks for bringing that to us John John Roberts --

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