Considering that June 15 was World Elder Abuse Day, it seems appropriate to talk about the huge increase in elderly scams! In the last few months, two of my clients, a friend and a neighbor have been the victims of financial scams. All told, they lost well over $200,000 and none of this is recoverable. For some it was all, or half of their life savings!!Some scammers posed as IRS agents; others fell prey to online scams. Most involved threats of arrest, physical harm, and more. Many asked their victims to buy gift cards totaling thousands or transferring money out of accounts to “pay” for bogus services or transactions.
So, I was not surprised to read this week the warnings directly from the FBI website; that elderly fraud and financial scams are up $419% from 2023! “According to the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Complaint Center data, there have already been $1.6 BILLION in losses from Jan to May of 2024, up nearly $300 million from the same period last year…”
What can you do to protect yourself and your loved ones? First, educate yourself on what to be aware of. I get daily bogus emails hoping I will open them and click on some link. These are phishing scams, and they are difficult to detect. Sometimes the message seems like it is from a friend, or a trusted company you do business with.
Here is a list from the FBI website on steps you should take to protect yourself:
Tech Support Scams, Romance Scams, Government Impersonations and More!
The most common elder fraud schemes reported in 2023 to the FBI were tech support scams, investment scams, romance scams, and government impersonation scams. No one from the IRS will call you directly, much less ask you to pay them with gift cards. With AI voice impersonation, do not believe your grandson is calling asking for money or telling you he has been arrested or kidnapped. When someone tells you about an investment that sounds too good to be true, hang up. Never give a “tech support” person permission to access or have remote control of your computer to “fix” the problem. And don’t ever trust online romance sites. Many scammers are trained professionals from oversees, just waiting to dupe you out of your money after promises of love and friendship.
Most Common Medicare Scams!
Another common scam is Medicare fraud. They will never call you asking for personal information!
Here are the 3 biggest Medicare scams:
- Medicare is issuing new cards, and they need to verify your information.
- Medicare is going to cancel your eligibility/card if you don’t verify your information.
- FREE Genetic testing through Medicare if you will give them your personal information
Don’t fall for this! All of these are scams. Educate yourself and talk about this with your family.
Michael Nordwall, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division shared how seniors often are too ashamed to report these kinds of crimes: “Unfortunately, elder fraud remains one of the most devasting violations we work in the FBI. The effects of these elaborate schemes go far beyond just financial losses. It robs an already vulnerable population of their sense of security. We all need to work together to make sure our seniors, their caregivers, families and friends know the signs to look for that a criminal is after your money.”
If you believe you or someone you know may have been a victim of elder fraud, contact your local FBI office or submit a complaint on IC3.gov. You should document the name of the scammer/company and methods of contact, dates of contact, methods of payment, where funds may have been sent, and a thorough description of the interactions. PLEASE, let’s all do what we can to stay safe and protected! Always report scams!
Here is the link to the FBI website: https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-highlights-growing-number-of-reported-elder-fraud-cases-ahead-of-world-elder-abuse-awareness-day
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Star Bradbury
Senior Living Strategies
Author: Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years
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