A bibliometric analysis of financial fraud exploiting the elderly in the digital age

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this review is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of financial fraud exploiting the elderly by mapping its evolution, identifying major metrics and discussing directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach – A bibliometric analysis was conducted, based on 434 articles retrieved from the Web of Science that represent the academic literature on the topic from 1995 to the first quarter of 2024. This paper analyses the antecedents of financial fraud exploiting the elderly, the publication trends and the most prolific countries, institutions, journals, research areas and authors. Bibliometric analyses based on co-citation and co-words explore the intellectual structure of the topic. A bibliographic coupling analysis reveals the hottest research trends in this field. Findings – A significant increase in the number of publications in recent years shows the importance gained by this research stream. The bibliometric analysis identifies four clusters throughout the literature: differentiation of types of elder abuse; protection of the elderly from fraud; cognitive and decision-making capacity in ageing; and factors influencing fraud victimization of the eldest. The most recent research lines identified through bibliographic coupling focused on the contextual and personal antecedents of financial exploitation of the elderly, as well as the possible impact of interventions. Several key research gaps and additional suggestions for further studies, as well as action lines for the financial authorities and economic agents, are outlined. Originality/value – This paper contributes to knowledge about financial fraud exploiting the elderly synthesizing the existing literature, stressing that the banking industry has to deal with such financial fraud in the context of a growing relevance of the silver economy.