Avoiding ‘Senior’ Scams

Summary

This blog is based on information supplied by:

Jimmy Tepper    Outreach Director |classactionu.org     email:  jimmy@classactionu-outreach.org

For those of you who live in USA, use the references detailed in classactionu.org/data-breach/types/senior-scams/ 

The term “senior scam,” often legally known as elder fraud, refers to a scheme deliberately targeting seniors and seeking to take advantage of their cognitive struggles, lack of familial support, or limited understanding of technology.

These scams have traditionally aimed to trick seniors into handing over money. However, scammers are increasingly targeting sensitive data, and being part of a data breach can leave seniors financially devastated or vulnerable to identity theft. It’s important to know how to protect yourself from senior scams early so you can stop fraud in progress before it’s too late.

Why Are Seniors Targeted?

Seniors are a particularly vulnerable demographic when it comes to fraud, especially in online scams and those using AI technology. Many seniors are isolated and have fewer friends or family members who can help identify scams. Seniors are also likely to be more trusting of strangers who claim to be in love with them, to have some form of legal authority over them, or make other false claims. 

Senior scammers also target older adults who do not fully understand modern technology and suffer from cognitive decline. A scammer may rely on the fact that a senior is confused by scare tactics to maximise the amount of money and information they can steal in a data breach.

Common Types of Senior Scams

Certain forms of scams are particularly likely to target seniors. 

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams involve sending fraudulent emails or messages to obtain sensitive information. These messages look legitimate and typically claim to come from organisations such as government agencies, social media sites, or banks. However, the messages will ask the targeted senior to enter personal information such as bank logins or Social Security numbers into fraudulent sites, which the scammer then abuses.

What This Scam May Look Like In Real Life

You receive an email from markzuckerberg48695@facebookloginhelp.com claiming that their Facebook account has been hacked. The email claims to be from Mark Zuckerberg directly and provides a login portal for you to enter your username and password.

The non-official email domain, the claim that Facebook’s CEO is personally involved, and the request for you to log in through the emailed link rather than directly on Facebook are all signs of a phishing attempt.

Telemarketing and Phone Scams

In a phone scam, a senior receives a call claiming that the caller needs money to be wired or otherwise transferred to them immediately. Common phone scams include fake charity appeals and lottery winnings. “Grandparent scams” in which the scammer pretends to be the victim’s grandchild, have also become common, especially with the rise of AI capable of faking voices.

Telemarketers often pressure seniors to spend significant money on things they don’t need with promises of limited-edition items and short sale windows. Keeping an eye on your expenditures can help you recognise aggressive telemarketing practices.

Online Scams

Online scams exploit some seniors’ confusion about technology to steal from them using the internet and other digital tools. These scams can include fake online storefronts and payment portals, malicious sites containing malware or spyware, or fraudulent “tech support” sites, among other schemes. Always check an email or website address to make sure it is genuine before committing any funds.

What This Scam May Look Like In Real Life

You may have a computer issue. Looking up tech support answers online takes you to a website where a “technician” claims that they need to take remote control of your device. The fake “technician” can then use this access to download sensitive information or install ransomware on your computer and demand money to uninstall it.

AI Scams

The use of AI in scams has become increasingly common in recent years as AI has become more advanced and realistic. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to AI scams because they can struggle to understand that something that appears real has been artificially generated. 

Voice cloning scams, deepfake videos, and other AI scams pose a huge data breach risk to seniors. Stay alert for suspicious photos, audio, or video that could be used to defraud you.

Investment and Financial Scams

Common financial scams aimed at seniors include investment scams and tax scams.

Investment scams are fraudulent investment opportunities promising high rewards with little risk. The scammer claims they’ll put the victim’s money into a high return investment and then steals it, often causing significant financial loss.

Tax scams rely on seniors’ inability to tell whether calls and emails “from the government” are genuine. Scammers use fake letterheads and other mocked up identifiers to claim they’re from the government, demanding immediate payment to rectify a nonexistent tax issue. They may threaten the victim with jail or serious fines if they don’t obey.

Romance Scams

“Romance scams” or “sweetheart scams” occur when scammers build fake relationships to exploit seniors emotionally and financially. Many romance scams occur online or over the phone, where a scammer can use fake pictures and voice masking technology to appear to be someone they’re not. 

Be aware that romance scams occur offline as well. If you suddenly take up with a new partner and want to give them money or assets, look out for warning signs that this new relationship is a scam in the making.

Recognising the Signs of Scams

There are a few common signs that indicate a scam in progress. Awareness of these can help prevent scammers from stealing from you.

Unsolicited Contact

Scammers often reach out unexpectedly without you soliciting contact. Random emails or phone calls requesting personal or financial information are often scammers cold calling many people, hoping to catch someone who will fall for the scam.

Pressure To Act Quickly

One reason seniors are often victims of scams is that scammers make their claims sound urgent and pressure victims to act quickly. This tactic aims to prevent the victim from seeking advice before wiring money or providing personal information. Pressure tactics often include threats of fines or prison time if the victim doesn’t act immediately.

The rise of AI also creates the risk that a scammer may be using a digital voice clone to pretend they are a relative, such as a grandchild, trapped in an emergency situation. Scammers use this technique to pressure seniors to act quickly, banking on their desire to get their impersonated loved one out of danger as quickly as possible.

Requests for Personal Information

Always be cautious when you are asked for sensitive data of any type for any reason. Common personal details scammers try to steal include Medicare numbers, bank information, and credit card details. It’s always a good idea to confirm a request through another method, such as a phone call with the alleged requester’s official customer service line, before you share personal information.

Asking for Unusual Forms of Payment

Scammers often demand unusual forms of payment, typically gift cards, rather than cash transfers. Purchasing $1,000 in gift cards at a big box store rather than sending money to a bank account means there is no identifying information about the person who requested the purchase. Official organisations will never ask you to pay an overdue balance with gift cards rather than legitimate bank transactions.

“Too Good To Be True” Offers

Offers that sound too good to be true nearly always are. Many seniors are swindled by claims that their money will go toward an investment, give them the attention of a political figure, or otherwise pay for similar outlandish scenarios. If you have been asked to send money to an unknown party in exchange for something those costs can’t realistically cover, it’s likely to be a scam.

What This Scam May Look Like In Real Life

You receive an email claiming to be associated with their preferred political party. The email states that for $5,000, you can communicate directly with the office of the Prime Minister and receive a response from him directly. This scam preys on your desire to be helpful to their political cause, only to steal your money and leave you with nothing to show for it.

Insisting on Secrecy

Legitimate businesses and government organisations may assure you that your information is confidential, but they will never pressure you not to discuss your transactions with anyone else. Scammers, however, commonly insist that victims aren’t allowed to tell anyone about the scam they’re experiencing, sometimes threatening criminal charges for breaching nonexistent or non-applicable confidentiality statutes.

Impact of Scams on Seniors

Scams can have serious consequences for people of all ages. However, seniors who are targeted by scammers are especially at risk of dramatic impacts on their health and financial well being. 

Financial Consequences

Left unchecked, a scammer can drain a senior’s retirement funds and leave them unable to pay for necessities. Because seniors are typically retired, they often have no way of earning back money they lost to a scam. 

If the scammer who stole the money can’t be tracked and civilly sued, their victims may have no way to recover their money. In drastic cases, this may require seniors to return to work, lose a paid caretaker, or move out of assisted living. Keeping a close eye on your finances is critical to protecting these things from financial instability caused by scammers.

Emotional and Psychological Effects

Becoming the victim of a scam can have a serious emotional impact on seniors. Feelings of shame, anxiety, depression, and paranoia are common for seniors to experience after being scammed. 

Many seniors also have limited to no support networks available to help them in the event of a scam, which can exacerbate scams’ emotional impact. In severe cases, seniors’ physical health may deteriorate as a result.

How To Protect Yourself from Scams

There are specific steps you can take to help protect yourself from becoming the victim of a scam. 

Education About Common Scams

Many seniors are victimised by scams because they don’t know the warning signs to look out for or how to identify fraudulent claims. Talking openly with your adult children about common scams and scare tactics is an important part of protecting yourself.

Implement Financial Safeguards

‘Monitoring your bank statements or setting up account alerts for suspicious transactions keeps you informed while still allowing you to control your money. It is easy and quick to check accounts daily where your money is kept. I do this every morning. Ensure you have the highest security on those accounts.

The best security is 2FA, (2 Factor Authentication), which means access to your account is only possible by using your phone. Ensure you have a security measure to access your phone in case you lose it. Even if you lose it, you should have an app (such as Google’s ‘Find Hub’) on your computer or your partner’s phone to show you its location. Ask the young to help you with this.

Support Networks

Cultivating a safe, trusting environment where you feel comfortable discussing suspicious communications is important. Open communication can reduce shame, fear, and other negative emotions that keep seniors from reporting scams.

Steps To Take if You Have Been Scammed

If you have already been scammed, act quickly to prevent further harm and mitigate the consequences of a successful scam.

Reporting the Scam

Reporting the scam is the first step in helping you recover. Getting the authorities on the case as soon as possible increases the chances that the scammer will be caught. 

Organisations in Australia, such as https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam exist to report a scam. File a report as soon as possible after discovering a scam

Protecting Financial Accounts

If your accounts have been breached, another key priority is mitigating your financial losses by immediately protecting your accounts. Freezing debit and credit cards, changing passwords, and reporting fraudulent transactions can prevent you from losing more money.

Seeking Emotional Support

When a senior has been victimised by a scam, they’re likely to need emotional support after the incident to recover and feel “normal” again. Connect to emotional support groups or counselling resources aimed at seniors who have been scammed, so they have therapeutic support structures in place to help them heal.

Resources for Further Assistance

Resources are available to seniors and their families who have been victimised by scammers or want more information on preventing scams.

Government Agencies

Senior scams are very common, and government agencies are vested in preventing them. Agencies that can help you find support and more information about elder fraud include the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI for those who live in USA. In addition to providing support resources for seniors and families, the FBI also maintains a list of known scammers you can look into if you receive suspicious communications from an unfamiliar party.

Nonprofit Organisations

There are dedicated nonprofit organisations committed to protecting seniors from financial exploitation. Organisations such as End Elder Fraud and the Center For Combating Elder Financial Abuse can provide resources and support after a senior scam has taken place, including further information about reporting a scam to the appropriate agencies.

Legal Assistance

Seeking legal advice after you have been the victim of a scam can help significantly with the reporting and recovery process. A reliable attorney can file appropriate reports on your behalf and represent you in court if necessary. 

If you were the victim of a large-scale scam defrauding many people, you may be eligible to start or join a class action lawsuit. At Class Action U, we handle every aspect of joining or filing a class action suit, taking the pressure off you while recovering from being scammed. Reach out to us online today for your free legal consultation.

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