You Didn't Ask...But : You Didn't Ask...But -#13-Scams by Brett Matthew West Artwork by ChuckWaxman at FanArtReview.com |
No doubt everyone has heard about the fake charities who call non-stop, the grandson is in some foreign country jail, and a myriad of other such quackeries.
What about that prize you won, but you must wire money by Western Union right away, or those gift cards you go to Walmart and purchase, only to read the numbers on the backs of them to some unidentified fraudster on the other end of your telephone? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE IS A SCAM!!! And, there are plenty more where they came from. Do youself a major favor and do not become victimized by these deceivers. Don't fall for them. Senior citizens are the primary targets of scammers for one main reason. Look at the situation from the crook's point of view for a moment and answer this question. Who is the better target, a broke young person struggling financially, in many cases because of student loans, or a senior with retirement assets? Scammers will attack the senior citizen at nearly every opportunity they get. Here are some statistics provided by the Federal Trade Commission, senior citizens aged 60 and older filed a whopping 467,340 fraud reports two years ago. Although this same age group is less likely to report the loss of money to scammers than those of the younger generations, at this same time, they did report approximately a billion dollars in total losses to scam artists. That is $1,000,000,000! According to the FTC, seniors also had the highest median monetary loss of all age groups at an average of $1,500. Some of the scams seniors lose the most money to include tech support, sweepstakes, lotteries, prizes, and family/friend impersonations. Some steps that can be taken to help seniors avoid becoming victims of scammers include: -talking about them because everyone at some time or another is approached by scammers -listening to trending news that places information about scammers out there online, over the radio, and on the television -have someone explain scams to them. Statistics indicate this action alone enables senior citizens to avoid being scammed up to 80% less often than those who do not have scams explained to them. -anti-fraud tools such as setting phones to send unknown numbers to voice mail -credit freezes -strict privacy controls on social media outlets -sign up for financial account monitoring to receive alerts for transactions On the legal side of the house a durable power of attorney, guardianship, and revocable trust can all be most effective to keep senior citizens' money away from scammers. Do whatever is required to avoid the pitfalls of being scammed. A senior citizen who suddenly becomes hesitant to talk about their finances, or has trouble paying their everyday bills when they did not previously, or receives frequent incoming phone calls or text messages, may have been a victim of a scam. Incredibly inventive, with methods that constantly evolve, scammers regularly use a false high sense of urgency, or tell their victims they must send funds immediately, to avoid having the police, the IRS, or some other authority come get them and put them in jail. Artificial intelligence used to mimic human voices is a recent stunt scammers have taken to using. Should you, or someone you know, fall victim to a scammer, you can assist the law in tracking and prosecuting scammers by reporting the incident to them. If this occurs you should notify such organizations as: -local police department -the FTC's online reporting portal -AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline - You are welcome. You didn't ask...but.
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Brett Matthew West
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