Speaking at a seminar on loneliness among older adults organized by the Institute of Mental Health at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi on June 15, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Mai, head of the institute's Elderly Mental Health Department, said older adults are among the groups most vulnerable, particularly those with stable finances or substantial savings.

Mai said the institute has recently received numerous patients who required hospitalization after suffering severe psychological distress following financial fraud. The scams have taken many forms, ranging from promotional product sales and dietary supplements to financial investment schemes.

"There have been cases in which elderly people lost billions of dong after being lured into financial investment opportunities or other promised benefits," Mai said.

In several localities, sales programs have been promoted using attractive offers such as "buy one, get one free," "special discounts for senior citizens," or gifts of significant value. Although many elderly participants had been advised by their children to stay away from the activities, some were still persuaded to make purchases and even borrowed money from people around them to participate.

Although the losses in such cases are often limited to a few million dong, they remain significant for retirees who no longer have stable sources of income. After being scammed, many experience prolonged guilt, regret and anxiety, lose sleep and fear criticism from family members. These negative emotions can result in serious psychological stress.

Older adults more vulnerable to fraud

Explaining why older adults are more susceptible to manipulation and fraud, Dr. Mai said it stem from a combination of psychological, cognitive and social factors.

Psychologically, many elderly people hope to enjoy a peaceful retirement while maintaining connections with family and society. They want to feel that they still have a meaningful role, remain respected and are capable of making important life decisions.

In addition, many wish to prove that they remain mentally sharp and experienced enough to handle matters independently, making them reluctant to seek advice from their children or relatives. This mindset can lead them to ignore warnings from family members and become easy targets for scammers.

However, in an era of rapid technological advancement, many older adults struggle to access and keep up with information in the digital environment. They also have fewer opportunities to receive warnings about new scam tactics circulating on social media.

Older adults are often especially concerned about their health, making them vulnerable to advertisements for dietary supplements, health products, wellness tourism packages and products promoted as improving physical well-being. By targeting the desire to "live longer and stay healthy," fraudsters can persuade them to spend substantial amounts of money.

Dr. Mai noted that certain executive brain functions, including planning, risk assessment, financial management and decision-making, may gradually decline with age. This can increase the likelihood of making poorly considered decisions and falling victim to scams.

Even more dangerous are investment-related fraud schemes. After victims lose money, scammers often exploit their desire to recover losses by presenting new investment opportunities. Hoping to recoup what they have already lost, many victims invest additional funds and ultimately suffer even greater losses.

Dr. Mai said many elderly victims quietly conceal what happened because they feel ashamed or fear opposition from their families. As a result, financial losses often continue to grow.

"At that point, the psychological burden becomes extremely heavy. Patients may begin to feel worthless, lose their sense of self-worth and lose confidence in themselves," Dr. Mai said.

The national television channel VTV has recently launched a series of reports about the trap of ‘timeshare contract’, showing that many older people have fallen into the trap and lost billions of dong.

One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of the VTV documentary series is that the vast majority of the featured victims are older adults or retirees.

According to lawyer Hoang Van Huong, these are individuals who typically have accumulated savings after decades of labor, while being highly susceptible to hyper-personalized care and counseling tactics.

Perpetrators frequently exploit the desire for retirement leisure, the wish to leave behind inheritance assets for children and grandchildren, or the elderly’s need for companionship and shared attention.

"Many older adults lack the habit of consulting a lawyer prior to executing a contract, and they also encounter greater hurdles in verifying information within digital environments," Huong stated.

Phuong Thuy