Why it works
What the research says about scam training
ScamPrep applies two decades of behavioral research and a playbook proven across industry to fortify defenses against scams.
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One-time education wears off
In 2024, a federal advisory group reviewed the research on scam-prevention messaging. The findings were blunt: benefits of a scam-awareness class largely fade within about a month. Attendees of in-person tutorials performed no better than anyone else six months later, and retention persisted only when reminders kept coming. People blindly click past in-the-moment pop-up warnings. One-and-done education is the standard response to elder fraud, and it demonstrably doesn't work.
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Safe experience is what changes behavior
The same review found the most promising approach is letting people safely experience a scam, that means delivering training messages when users click on links in fake phishing messages. This is because of what psychologists call optimism bias, that sense of “it won't happen to me.” Statistics and education don't break it, but a near-miss might. A University of Florida study sent simulated phishing emails to real inboxes over 30 days and found susceptibility was measurable, trainable, and predictive of real-world behavior. That's the ScamPrep model: repetitive safe experiences to immediate coaching, which together lead to measurable resilience.
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The playbook is proven at massive scale
Virtually every large company trains employees with simulated phishing: fake the attack on company systems and coach whomever clicks. It's a multibillion-dollar industry because it works. But this approach has only ever been pointed at office workers. The demographic losing the most money to these scams has never had a version built for them, until ScamPrep.
Ground-up design based on the research
The same research that validates simulation is specific about how to do it right with older adults: positive framing, never fear or shame; immediate, gentle debriefs; consent and trust as the foundation. We built those insights into the product's bones. Read our promise
Sources
- FTC Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group, A Review of Scam Prevention Messaging Research (2024)
- University of Florida, simulated-phishing study in older adults, PNAS Nexus (2024)
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Annual Report
- Cybersecurity Ventures, security-awareness training market analysis
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