Correction: The website for Western Union’s “Fraud Quiz,” which lets people test their knowledge of scammers’ tricks and techniques, is https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/fraudawareness/fraud-home.html. A story in Wednesday’s Family section carried an expired link.
The most recent Christmas scamming season might have passed, but many scams operate year-round and target a wide range of potential victims, says the Better Business Bureau of Arkansas.
So many scams specifically target vulnerable older folks. And, says Arkansas bureau President Janet Robb, no matter how smart you are, there are likely scammers out there who are more clever than you are.
"If you think you're too smart for any of these, you're exactly the target they're looking for," she says.
Via its website (bbb.org/arkansas), the bureau, which has teamed up with the fraud prevention team at Western Union (wu.com/fraudawareness), stresses to always "be wary of sending money to individuals you haven't met in person."
Sometimes, though, the request seemingly comes from somebody with whom the potential victim is not only acquainted, but related -- as in the case of the so-called "emergency scam," and the variation that specifically frequently targets older family members, the "grandparent scam." This one surfaces most often over the summer but also during spring and Christmas breaks.
It works this way: A call comes in from somebody who claims to be a friend or a family member, supposedly stranded in some inhospitable place by weather, or is somewhere overseas and has been robbed or injured, or sits in jail on a trumped-up charge, or is being held hostage by unsympathetic officials or even terrorists -- so please, wire as much money as you possibly can, ASAP.
"People don't stop to think it through," Robb says. "There's always a sense of urgency, or of emergency.
"We got a call from a couple that got taken for $8,500 that way, and they're smart people. They wired $4,500 and another four grand the next day."
Another con that specifically targets older people, says Robb, is the "Life Alert Scam." The scammer calls, claiming that a family member has bought them an emergency alert system, and all they need is an address and a credit-card number to put things in motion.
"What makes this particularly
evil is that the call often comes in at 2 or 3 in the morning," when the recipient is likely to be disoriented, Robb says.
Kai Stinchcombe and Claire McDonnell in 2013 founded a San Francisco Bay-area company called True Link (truelinkfinancial.com) after Stinchcombe, the chief executive officer, discovered his grandmother, a retired teacher who was experiencing memory loss and dementia, was donating a third of her income to unscrupulous charities that were targeting her by phone and mail.
"She started losing track of her charitable donations," he explains. His grandmother had been donating about $50 a month to various causes; "she ended up getting on mailing and telemarketing lists, and started getting requests for her to send $10 or whatever, multiple times a day. So $50 a month quickly turned into $50 a day."
EASY PREY?
Stinchcombe says as people age they may become more trusting, making it easier for them to fall prey to telemarketers, TV ads for "miracle" products, unwanted magazine subscriptions, unnecessary medical devices, sweepstakes scams, sham charities and investment "deals." And once you've bought something online or from a telemarketer, he says, you've gotten onto a contact list for that operator and likely many others, pretty much in perpetuity.
Scammers hover around online dating sites, which, according to the bureau, experience a surge during and after the holidays. But, it warns, "Be careful with an online sweetheart who gets cozy too fast or asks for money." And again, "Never send money to someone you haven't met face-to-face."
Stinchcombe notes that scammers will string victims along for some time before asking the mark -- for example, a recently widowed father with a new online "friend" -- for money. The scenario often involves the "friend" wanting to come visit but unable to afford the flight, or needing help to clear a debt or rescue a relative. And when they do ask for money, they will often ask for it in untraceable ways, like a money order or a single-use prepaid card.
Senior citizens are also frequent targets, though not the only ones, of sweepstakes scams, many of which involve a phone call -- almost always, Robb notes, from area code 876 -- claiming they've won the Publisher's Clearinghouse sweepstakes and asking for a security fee before they can get the check. ("Be cautious with this Jamaican area code," warns AARP, which also keeps an eye out for scams that affect older adults. "If you do not have friends, relatives or business associates in Jamaica, there is probably a scammer on the other end of line.")
Hang up on anybody claiming to be a Microsoft Windows engineer who says he's detected a problem with your computer and asks you to open up your database for his inspection. It's an open invitation for a scammer to steal your personal information.
Watch out also, Robb says, for the "secret shopper" scam, in which the scammer sends an official-looking check from Wal-Mart or some other retail company; once you deposit it, but before the bank finds out it's worthless, they'll ask for some portion of it back, leaving you potentially out hundreds of dollars -- or worse, giving thieves access to your bank account.
Be careful of email sales pitches and social media ads -- "fake websites promising fake deals," the bureau says. "Some scammers will send fake emails or advertisements promising unheard-of deals for a product, leading you to a fake website that steals your credit card information when you try to check out," a technique sometimes known as "phishing."
"It's easy to spoof the logo, email or website of popular brands and stores," the bureau notes. Rather than clicking directly on links, "go to your browser and type in the name of the company."
Red flags: the URL (web address) starts with "http," not the more secure "https"; the site provides no contact information; and you're asked to pay by wire or money card.
FINANCIAL THREATS
True Link, which cites the statistic that one in five Americans over the age of 65 has reported falling victim to some form of financial fraud -- all told, almost $3 billion a year -- also lists these threats to an aging relative's finances:
• The "Buyers Club Scam," which offers a very low-priced cruise but which involves having to enroll in a free "buyer's club" trial to qualify. Once you've signed up, the cruise is suddenly no longer available, and within as few as seven days you start getting a monthly membership charge even if you've never used any of the offers.
• The "Obituaries/Uncollected Debt Scam." Scammers troll the obituaries in small-town newspapers, then call widows with the bad news that their recently deceased husbands actually had thousands of dollars in debt that must be paid off immediately to avoid financial ruin or even eviction. "This is particularly effective against women whose late husbands handled most of the family finances," says a True Link release. "Scammers target these women in the days immediately following their husbands' death when they may be more vulnerable, confused and stressed."
"It's not just the Nigerian lottery or someone pretending to be a grandchild calling for money in the middle of the night," Stinchcombe says. "Today the bad guys are getting more creative and more bold."
Stinchcombe and Robb also warn senior citizens and their loved ones to be wary about solicitations from charities to which you have not given before or with which you're not familiar. Stinchcombe recommends you always check out a charity with the bureau, which suggests in turn that you make sure it's a legitimate, trustworthy organization via the website give.org, which carries free reports from the bureau's Wise Giving Alliance.
The Better Business Bureau site includes a "scam-stopper" where you can follow current scams that consumers have reported to the bureau and sign up for scam alerts. And Western Union has put together a "Fraud Quiz" to let people test their knowledge of scammers' tricks and techniques (www.westernunion.com/us/en/fraudawareness/fraud-quiz.html).
RULE OF THUMB
But, Robb says, you can also just follow this simple rule of thumb: "Here's the bottom line. If you have not initiated the call, or if you have not solicited the email, No. 1, be suspicious. No. 2, you can trust but verify. And No. 3, don't share anything, whether it be financial or personal information, with anyone until you check them out" at the Better Business Bureau website or Facebook page, where, Robb says, information on scams is posted regularly.
"The phone calls that really break our hearts are the ones that we get after the fact, after they've provided the information, after they've given the [prepaid] money card: 'It kind of didn't feel right, so I thought I'd call and check it out.'
"'Great. We're glad you did. There's not a darn thing we can do about it now. Except, good for you; now you know.'"
Family on 01/14/2015