Summertime and the living is easy and the scammers are out to get you. Seniors lose more than $3 billion to fraud each year. One of our most popular workshops is about scams and frauds. If you haven’t yet been approached by a scammer, you could face a scheme in the coming years. Sometimes family members, especially relatives caring for the elderly, are even the ones behind the attack. Some of the most common senior scams include:
1.
Charity scams.
2.
Funeral scams.
3.
Government imposter scams.
4.
Grandparent scams.
5.
Internet scams.
6.
Investment scams.
7.
Medicare scams.
8.
Reverse mortgage scams.
9.
Romance scams.
10. Sweepstakes scams.
Here’s a breakdown of how these elderly scams work, along
with what to do to avoid falling prey to an attack.
Charity Scams
If there’s a hurricane or other natural disaster in your
area, a criminal might call you and ask for donations to a non-profit that is
working to rebuild the region or help needy families.
Protect Yourself: Don’t agree to give to charities
over the phone or when first approached. Instead, investigate the organization
and find a number to call if you are interested in giving a donation.
Funeral Scams
If you place an obituary in a local publication after a
loved one dies, a thief might contact you and insist that your deceased
relative left behind a debt that needs to be paid. In another variation of this
scam, the criminal might attend the funeral service to gather information about
you before asking for money to cover an unpaid debt. Someone pretending to be from
the funeral home could call you and insist that there are extra charges that
didn’t get paid yet.
Protect Yourself: For all these attempts, refuse to
send money immediately and ask for written documentation of the expense.
Government Imposter Scams
You might receive phone calls from people pretending to be
from the IRS or Social Security Administration that demand immediate payment of
unpaid taxes or ask for personal information in order to continue your Social
Security or Medicare benefits. The scammer could be using a technique called
spoofing which makes it appear as if the incoming phone number is legitimate.
The caller is likely to ask you for information or demand you make a payment,
which might need to be in the form of a gift card.
Protect Yourself: “These government agencies will
never initiate contact with people through a phone call, so you can be sure
that the person calling you is a scammer.
Grandparent Scams
In this scenario, a person will pretend to be the grandchild
of the person who answers the phone and ask for money. The caller might claim
they are having an emergency, such as a car accident or problem with the law,
and don’t want anyone to find out. They might ask you to send them money or
gift cards.
Protect Yourself: Setting up a code word for your
grandchildren to use in a real emergency is a good thing to do.
Internet Scams
If you share information about yourself through social
media, you could be targeted by scammers online. Internet scammers can find out
personal information about you that is available online and use that to craft a
scenario that might motivate you to provide funds or share more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment