Grandma Mary answers the phone. “Grandma?” says a male voice. “Billy, is that you?” she says. “Yes, grandma it’s me, I’ve done something stupid and I need your help. I need $3,000 as soon as possible to make bail. Please don’t tell my parents. It’s just a big misunderstanding, I’ll explain everything later. Here, I’ll let you speak to the police officer, he will tell you where to send the money. Thanks, Grandma, I know I can count on you.”
A few years ago, my wife’s family encountered such issues with a family member.While my father-in-law was visiting a family member, he noticed a tremendous amount of checks being written for various “charity” and sweepstakes-related organizations. When he inquired about the organizations and asked what the organizations did, he was met with ambiguous answers. After researching the names of the organizations, he found that many were felonious. Thousands and thousands of dollars were lost.
Scams against the elderly are excessive
According to the FBI’s 2023 Elder Fraud Report, elder fraud is an expensive crime.Scams targeting individuals aged 60 and older “caused over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023 — an increase of approximately 11% from the year prior. The average victim of elder fraud lost $33,915 due to these crimes in 2023.”
Unfortunately, scams like these are becoming increasingly common. The so-called “grandparent” scam ranks sixth on the U.S. Senate Aging Committee’s top 10 list of scams targeting seniors.The top complaint, the focus of more than twice as many calls as any other scam, involved seniors receiving calls from fraudsters posing as agents of the Internal Revenue Service. These criminals falsely accuse seniors of owing back taxes and penalties to scam them.
As reported in an FBI article, seniors are targeted because they are more likely to be perceived as responsible, as having a “nest egg” and excellent credit. Seniors grew up in a time when it was customary to be trusting and polite. Con artists exploit these traits knowing it is hard for seniors to say “no” and hang up the phone. Con artists are aware that many of these crimes go unreported, making it an easy scam.
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Here in Colorado, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center indicates that last year, the state had an estimated 2,905 complaints filed by individuals over the age of 60 costing a total of $54,454,519 — that’s a $18,745 cost per person.
These crimes often go unreported because too often the senior fears retaliation, is unaware of how and where to report the crime, or may not be aware they have been a victim of fraud. Additionally, many seniors are embarrassed that they have been scammed and don’t want to admit it to their families for fear they will be thought incompetent and no longer able to manage their financial affairs. Seniors need to understand there is no reason to be embarrassed. These scammers are savvy con artists.
So how do you protect a loved one from becoming victimized? Communication quite possibly may be the only proactive approach. All else may be reactionary and damage management.
Tips to avoid senior scams
- Never give out personal information over the phone.
- If anyone calls you with an emergency request for money, call another family member or friend and check if the situation is valid before sharing any personal information. If the person calling sounds like a family member, but you are not sure, ask the caller personal family questions — like names of siblings or other family members to see if they can answer correctly.
- Medicare and Social Security will not call you to ask for your bank information or Social Security Number.
- Sensitive personal and financial documents should be kept secure at all times.
- Review all medical bills to spot any services that you didn’t receive, and many more.
What to do if you suspect you have been a victim of identity fraud
- Call the companies where you know the fraud occurred.
- Alert all the banks where your loved ones have accounts.
- Place a fraud alert with a credit reporting agency and get your credit report from one of the three national credit bureaus.
- Report identity theft to the FTC.
- File a report with your local police department.
If you, or someone you know, believe a potential scam has occurred, you can file an online complaint to the Internet Crime Complaint Centerfor elder fraud. It’s always a good idea to contact your local police department as well.
Fraud and identity theft are here to stay, so we must protect ourselves and family from this type of abuse. The best defense against senior scams is a strong offense — focusing on prevention and education.
