Social Capital and Financial Fraud Risk Among Older Adults: Catalyst

This study delves into the effect of financial literacy on older adults' financial fraud exposure, and then investigates how social capital moderates this relationship.This study utilized quantitative survey data from the Wenjuanxing platform, collecting 184 valid samples primarily from Jiangsu Province and surrounding regions.The findings reveal a significant negative correlation between the financial literacy levels of older adults and their exposure to financial fraud.Specifically, higher financial literacy is associated with stronger abilities to identify and resist fraud, resulting in a lower likelihood of encountering financial fraud.Meanwhile, social capital moderates the relationship between financial literacy and fraud risk: in contexts of high-quality, informed social interaction it strengthens the protective effect of financial literacy, whereas in contexts of unverified or informal trust networks the protective effect is weaker.These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions that integrate financial education with guidance on navigating social media networks.