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Assessing the Magnitude of Mass Marketing Fraud

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Assessing the Magnitude of Mass Marketing Fraud UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Assessing the Magnitude of Mass Marketing Fraud by JACQUELINE M. DREW A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION HASKAYNE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CALGARY, ALBERTA AUGUST, 2011 © JACQUELINE M. DREW 2011 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-81937-1 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-81937-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Abstract This study examines ways in which Mass Marketing Fraud (MMF) has been measured in the past, points out deficiencies in these methodologies, and suggests ways in which measurement might be done more scientifically and with better accuracy. Specifically, the author examines existing academic literature regarding Mass Marketing Fraud, and then analyzes two major surveys which attempted to estimate the magnitude of MMF: one study conducted in the UK in 2006 and one study conducted in Canada in 2007. As a professional member of the marketing industry, the author also suggests new, non-survey methodologies which could be used to measure the magnitude of MMF and which are not reliant on the public’s ability to recognize and report victimization when questioned in the context of an after-the-fact survey. Author Note This author of this research owns a private marketing consulting business in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She completed an informal preliminary literature review in 2008 under a paid contract for the Competition Bureau of Canada to develop messaging for an awareness campaign for commercial mass marketing fraud. Although she has not been compensated or contracted for any work from the Competition Bureau since 2008, she did receive some guidance, support, and materials for this literature review from her contacts at the Competition Bureau. Acknowledgements The author wishes to express her sincere appreciation and gratitude to the many individuals who have contributed to this work, especially: To Dr. Robert Schulz, my supervisor, for his encouragement, mentorship and support throughout the course of this work. You have a rare creativity and boundless energy for problem solving and it has been a tremendous benefit to have your insight. To the professionals at the Competition Bureau, Industry Canada, and the Office of Fair Trading for providing valuable reports, data and advice which were used in this study. To my children, George and Elizabeth, who have managed to grow up to be exceedingly strong, supportive, and independent in accommodation of a mother who is endlessly pursuing her dreams. I hope that the completion of my MBA will inspire your educational plans in the long run, and help you know that dreams and educational goals are independent of chronological age. Finally, to my husband, Gary, you are my best friend, soul mate, and endless believer in me. A lifetime of love will always be my thanks to you. Dedicated to START Marketing Inc. Thank you for 15 years of serving honourable, go-getting businesses and teaching me all about the world in the process. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. CHAPTER 1: THE ISSUE OF MASS MARKETING FRAUD (MMF)..........................1 1.1. Definition Of Mass Marketing Fraud..........................................................................5 2. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................8 2.1. Literature Review Part 1: Marketing Literature...........................................................8 2.2. Literature Review Part 2: Overview Of Government Documents..............................15 3. CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF THE DATA PROVIDED ............................................21 3.1. Methodologies For Measuring MMF........................................................................22 3.2. Key Results Of Recent MMF Studies .......................................................................25 3.3. Specific Scam Comparisons .....................................................................................30 4. CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF DATA STUDY RESULTS.............................................33 4.1. Gender Comparison..................................................................................................34 4.2. Age Groupings .........................................................................................................35 4.3. Education vs. Social Class........................................................................................36 4.4. Income Groupings....................................................................................................37 4.5. Statistical Analysis by Type of Scam........................................................................39 4.5.1. African Advance Fee (419 Fraud) Scam..............................................................39 4.5.2. Prize and Sweepstakes Scam...............................................................................41 4.5.3. Work-At-Home or Business Opportunity Scam...................................................43 4.5.4. Miracle Health or Bogus Cure Scam ...................................................................44 4.5.5. Property and High-Risk Investment Fraud...........................................................46 4.5.6. Holiday or Vacation Club Scam ..........................................................................48 4.5.7. Advance Fee for Loans or Credit Cards Scam .....................................................50 4.5.8. Other Scams........................................................................................................51 5. CHAPTER 5: VICTIMIZATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS...........54 5.1. Relationship Between Gender and Victimization......................................................55 5.2. Relationship Between Age and Victimization...........................................................56 5.3. Education, Income, and Social Class Relationships ..................................................59 5.4. Amounts Lost Per Scam ...........................................................................................62 6. CHAPTER 6: MEASUREMENT OPTIONS ..................................................................63 6.1. Measuring Other Insidious Crimes ...........................................................................63 6.2. Suggested Methodologies to Measure MMF.............................................................66 7. CHAPTER 7: TACKLING THE RESEARCH...............................................................78 8. CHAPTER 8: BENEFITS OF SUGGESTED RESEARCH...........................................82 9. CHAPTER 9: AREAS FOR FUTURE STUDY..............................................................84 10. CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSIONS .....................................................................................88 11. REFERENCES..................................................................................................................89 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Top Marketing Journals Addressing MMF Related Topics............................................8 Table 2: Other Journals Addressing MMF-Related Topics ........................................................11 Table 3: Types of Fraud Included in the 2005 FTC (U.S.) Fraud Survey ...................................19 Table 4: Overview of Data Provided.........................................................................................22 Table 5: Comparison of Methodologies of Recent MMF Studies ..............................................24 Table 6: Comparison of Results of Recent MMF Studies ..........................................................25 Table 7: Scam Types “Rampancy” Comparison........................................................................31
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