Reduce Your Risk of Being Scammed

By: Rick Banas

Here was a recent story in the news about a couple in their 80s who had been scammed out of their life savings. Over a period of time, the couple had been bilked out of more than $100,000 through what is often called the Granny Scam.

Scammers using the Granny Scam often target seniors with calls that wake them up in the middle of the night posing as a grandson or granddaughter in trouble. A common ploy is for the scammer to say they are in trouble because they were stopped and arrested for drunk driving. They need to have money wired to them.

What is amazing is how much personal information the scammers have about the individual they are impersonating.

Another example of a scam that has become common is for the senior to receive a phone call from a person posing as manager of his or her bank. The caller says that the bank needs help to catch an employee who the bank suspected was involved in criminal activity. The caller asks the senior to go to a particular teller at the bank, withdraw cash from their bank account, and drive it to the parking lot of a local store. The cash would be exchanged for a receipt that the person could take to the bank to have their cash returned. Since no one at the bank was actually involved; the target is been scammed out of their cash.

There are some obvious red flags in these scams that can alert the prospective target of the fraud. First, a bank will never call you to help them catch a criminal. Catching criminals is the job of law enforcement agencies.

Criminals are successful because of people who give them the opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, these crimes are on the rise against older adults primarily because the “Greatest Generation” was trained to trust people.

Here are some tips about what you can do to protect yourself:

• If someone is calling you asking for money, whether a stranger or someone you supposedly know, do not agree to the request while you are on the phone. If you think it is someone you know, make sure you verify their identity through a third party.
• Do not give out Social Security, Medicare, credit card or banking information to someone who calls you on the phone or contacts you on online.
• Do not carry around large amounts of cash. If you have to carry a large amount of cash, keep it in different places on your person, rather than all in one place.
• Do not flash money when you are out.
• Use a bank to withdraw money rather than an ATM.
• Use a fanny pack to carry around cash and credit cards, which can be much harder to steal than a purse or wallet.
• Do not provide credit card numbers on the Internet unless you are making a purchase from a site you know to be legitimate and has secure encryption.
• Avoid going out alone, or shopping at night, especially when you are alone.

Another common source of scams or theft aimed at the elderly, unfortunately, is family members, especially if the family member is under the influence of drugs, alcohol and/or gambling. A primary reason is that grandparents often have prescription medicines such as painkillers that have value in the black market. Making sure your valuables are in a safe place in your home is as important as having security online.

You should never feel pressured into giving people money, whether stranger, friend or family member. That should be a choice left up to the individual. If you suspect that someone is trying to scam you or you have been a scam victim, you may want to begin by contacting Fraud.org (www.fraud.org), which has been created by the National Consumer’s League to provide resources for victims of scams. ■