No matter how old you are, you can be targeted by scammers. However, it seems that seniors are often their victims. In 2020 alone, approximately 75 percent of Americans were targeted by scammers. The percentage is really concerning since we are talking about more than 211.066 million.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the fraud losses reported by older Americans through the third quarter of last year resulted in $388 million. Maybe you were also one of those seniors who fell victim to fraud, so how were you swindled?
Last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, scammers saw another opportunity (that’s what they do every minute of their lives, after all) to deceive many people.
And although COVID-19 scams are pretty trendy right now, it doesn’t mean that we should forget about the others. So, to avoid falling victim to fraud, we’ve compiled a list of common scams you should always bear in mind. Click on the ‘NEXT’ button to find them!
23 thoughts on “11 Common Scams Targeting the Elderly”
One very good wasy to get rid of the grandchild call is to ask for his or her middle name. They will immediately hang up.
Or maybe better yet, ask the alleged grandchild for his parent’s names. It’s certainly someone the elder person knows, although it’s possible the scammer may have that information already.
Another scam is a call telling you your computer has a virus and they can get rid of it for you when indeed they are putting the virus in and charging you big bucks to get rid of it, then later calling you telling you they can’t fix it and is going to return your money. Instead they wind up taking more money.
I had this happen to me with a new laptop that I received as a Christmas gift. I booted it up one day 2 months later, and suddenly this page appears telling me my computer has been infected with a virus. It gave a phone number to call, which I did. After speaking to a man (who had an accent that I had a hard time understanding), he told me he was a Microsoft Technician and I should not try to shut down the computer as this would only lock in the virus. I was very skeptical and said, “How do I know this isn’t a scam?” The guy immediately disengaged from the call. I shut the computer down, waited a few hours and when I rebooted, everything has been just fine ever since.
This one cost me $1000. They only got $500 but the gift card they had me get was not one I could get my money back from.
I caught several before they got anything.
Thank you for this page.
WAScaught in a romance scam
I need a pro bono attorney. Where do I find one
Facebook scam, also under romance fraud. Insisting on marriage, and I have to pay $300 to some government agent in France, also wants all my personal information including social security number. I just can’t get myself to let that go. Handsome man, who would want to marry someone old enough to be their parents! I have no money.
Do not ever even answer the phone! They can leave a message. Listen to the message but don’t call the number they give you! Call the correct number if you feel you need to
i was asked dragged exactly in very similar; Medicare scam. two women one like a phony supervisor, asked me with the same story except Medicare has more benefits and she could upgrade my benefits if I gave her a certain # from my medicare card. i sensed it was phony, medicare never calls, always send written notice and hanged up. Today i read the story and i appreciate, sending this scammer.
Bhupen kapadia
Several days ago, I purchased a bottle of wine at our local Safeway grocer. The cashier insisted on scanning my Washington State driver’s license to verify my birth. Cashiers trusted by Safeway?Cashiers unable to read DOB? or ??? I am bald with a grey hairline and use a cane!
Re: Romance Scams.
The elders aren’t the only victims. People in their 20s, 30s, 40+ have also been scammed, pressured into marriage by someone trying for immigration.
Re: Romance Scams.
The elders aren’t the only victims. People in their 20s, 30s, 40+ have also been scammed, pressured into marriage by someone trying for immigration.
Thank you so very much!!!!!! Good information much appreciated…..
Is there a way to punish overseas scammer sthat sell items that you never get.
SNAP should increase the income limits as the cost of everything has gone up so much people can’t keep up
All very good advice for people of any age. The subreddit r/scams has lots of good info also.
The other day I got a call from Jamaica he asked are you (my name), then said you have just won 2,000.000 dollars. Then asked me my age I gave it to him, then he said good. Now you need to go to 7 eleven, or Walgreens and make 2 money orders 1 for 500.00 and 1 for 499.00
And I will wait on the phone until you come back. This is so we will send the prize patrol car to give you your winnings.
Of course I new it was a scam because he continued to call another 10 times which I just let it go to voice message then I just blocked his number.
Thank you for this information! I’ve been scammed so many times. the most recent was my Sam’s c
Club card had expired and they offered a 1 year membership for free. they charged a $9.58 fee to process. it went through the right away. next day i had a $193.66 fee charged. My membership only cost $110.00 fee. I went to the bank and Sam’s club the net day and was given the right information. My membership didn’t expire till July! Now i check with my bank and the membership before i commit to doing any transaction!
I was a victim of a scam !my bank is making me pay back what the scammer took from my account??
we have these calls multiple times per week. One guy got so mad at my husband for not falling for this crap, he told my husband to “suck his ,,,,” Too bad theres not a way to find these people; They are getting more bold as time goes on.
The new scam for 2024 is someone calls saying they are from the bank you use and that someone used your debit card to make a purchase in another city. They ask if you are home or traveling. They may even ask if you know a certain person. Then they say is your user name “xyz” to get you to give them the correct user name of your account. The best thing to do when you hear that this is your bank’s fraud department calling is to hang up and call the bank back and check out if there has been any fraud against your account. Scammers are tricky and know how to sound professional.
I was contacted by Antonio Herrold on FB who asked me the friend him. He said he was a rancher in Arizona with 600,000 acres of land with cattle and sheep. He also bought and sold property, a a large profit after cleaning it up. He wanted me to invest. Over the months, I sent him a lot of money through WalMart to Walmart or Western Union. Then they wouldnt accept my transactions anymore and he had me send money through the post office. I sent it to Julie Gail Whittsett in Florida. She applied it to property for him or sent it to him in cyrpto currency. It was very hard on me , but I believed him. Then he sent me a package of checks in my name from the MT bank and had me deposit it in my real US Bank account. The next day I was told it was fraud, no account was real the MT bank. I called MT bank and they had no record of me or my social sec card on file. My US Bank, put a freeze on my account. I have had to change my way of direct deposit. This has caused me a lot of pain, aggravation, anger, disappointment and trust. He told me he put in the wrong number on the bank account, then told me his lawyers would look into it. He told me he loved me and wanted to marry me, although I am married. He said he would visit ne, but he didn’t. He told me a lot of things. Later, one of our last coversations he said he was broke. I would like to really talk to him in person, and ask him why he did this to me. I am an honest, good , caring person. I have filed with my police station, the bank, wrote to the sheriff of Brevard County County and even Antonio’s tribal Navajo president, but it came back. I am in the process of calling the FTC and making a report. A lit of this was on Snapchat.