Rogue Traders, Ageing Populations, and Doorstep Fraud

• In Event: White Collar Victimization: Fraud, Identity Theft and Exploitation

Abstract

There is a dearth of academic research on 'doorstep crime' which typically involves fraud and consumer protection offences against older or vulnerable adults, targeted in their homes for bogus property repairs. Such crimes are likely to become more common as populations age and older adults become increasingly vulnerable to cognitive impairments, physical disabilities, and social isolation.

This paper will provide a specification of the dynamics and pathways which comprise doorstep crime involving 'rogue traders' and organised crime groups, whose offending can also involve money laundering. It will draw on interviews with the police, trading enforcement officers, financial investigators, and incarcerated offenders, as well as legal case files of large-scale prosecutions undertaken in one regional area in the UK. Points of intervention for prevention, enforcement, and safeguarding will be outlined.

Author

• Coretta Phillips, London School of Economics and Political Science