As we grow older, maintaining our financial security becomes essential, yet seniors frequently find themselves targeted by various financial scams that can result in significant losses. These deceptive schemes manifest in numerous ways, including fraudulent phone calls, misleading emails, high-pressure sales tactics, and identity theft. We aim to equip seniors and their loved ones with the knowledge and tools necessary to recognize, avoid, and respond to financial scams effectively.
Key Takeaways
- Common Scams Target Seniors: Seniors face specific scams, like grandparent scams, fake lotteries, tech support fraud, and telemarketing cons. Recognizing these can help prevent financial loss.
- Stay Alert to Fraud Signs: Watch for warning signs, such as unsolicited contacts, requests for secrecy, or unusual payment methods. If something feels suspicious, it probably is.
- Protect Personal Info and Accounts: Keep sensitive information private, review financial statements regularly, and set up account alerts to catch unusual activity early.
- Report Suspected Fraud Quickly: If you suspect fraud, contact your bank, freeze your credit, and report it to authorities. Services like Bank Five Nine’s fraud monitoring can also provide added protection.
Common Types of Senior Exploitation and Fraud
Seniors face a range of scams, each designed to steal their hard-earned money. Being aware of these can help prevent financial loss:
- Grandparent Scams: A scammer impersonates a grandchild, claiming to be in urgent need of money. The scammer often asks the senior to wire money or provide gift card codes to resolve a supposed crisis.
- Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams: Seniors are told they’ve won a lottery or sweepstakes but must first pay taxes or fees to claim their prize.
- Tech Support Scams: Fraudsters pretend to be from tech companies, claiming there’s a problem with the senior’s computer. They ask for remote access or payment to “fix” nonexistent issues.
- Telemarketing Scams: Fake telemarketers offer products, services, or charitable donations. Seniors are pressured into providing credit card information or wiring money.
- Advance Fee Scams: Seniors are tricked into paying upfront for fake loans, investments, or inheritance payouts that never materialize.
- Obituary Scams: Scammers use obituaries to target recent widows/widowers, attempting to collect false debts of the deceased.
- Magazine Subscriptions: Companies send free magazines and convince individuals that they owe money for the subscription.
- Reverse Mortgage Scams: Scammers in real estate and financial services steal equity from properties of unsuspecting individuals through misleading reverse mortgage offers.
- IRS Scams: Scammers threaten individuals with jail time or prosecution if they don’t immediately pay debts to the IRS, especially during tax season.
- Payday Lender Scams: Individuals receive congratulations for being approved for a payday loan they didn’t apply for, indicating a likely scam.
- Investment Scams: Scammers convince individuals that unusual assets (like horses or mines) are worthwhile investments, leading to significant financial losses.
- Charitable Donation Scams: Scammers impersonate local or well-known charities, redirecting donations to their own pockets instead.
- Mystery Shopper Scams: Victims are recruited to become mystery shoppers, often receiving counterfeit checks and being instructed to send a portion back to the scammer.
- Sweetheart Scams: Scammers pose as romantic interests to gain financial control over victims, often leading to significant emotional and financial harm.
- Identity Theft: Scammers obtain personal identifying information (like social security numbers and dates of birth) to establish credit or accounts in the victim’s name.
- Nigerian Scam: (This usually has upfront fees) where scammers pose as wealthy individuals needing help to transfer money, asking for upfront fees that lead to significant financial losses.
How to Protect Yourself From Fraud
At Bank Five Nine, we want to empower seniors to protect themselves from fraud. Here are steps you can take to safeguard your assets:
- Stay Vigilant: Be cautious of unsolicited calls, emails, or offers. Verify their identity by calling them directly using a trusted phone number, rather than using contact information they provide.Be skeptical of any offers requiring payment before receiving funds.
- Trust Your Instincts: If something feels off or too good to be true, trust your gut and take a step back. If something feels wrong, it probably is.
- Avoid High-Pressure Situations: Be cautious of any offers that require immediate action or create a sense of urgency.
- Review Your Accounts and set up Alerts: Check your financial statements for any unusual or unauthorized activity. Set up alerts to help monitor account activity. This can help you catch any unusual transactions right away.
- Keep Information Secure: Don’t share personal information like Social Security numbers, account numbers, or passwords with strangers over the phone or online.
- Keep security software current: Having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system are the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats.
- Appoint a Trusted Contact: Consider assigning a trusted family member or advisor who can help oversee your finances or review your accounts for any suspicious activity.
- Keeping Your Mail Safe:
- Limit your exposure – by using online services such as bill pay service offered by your financial institution, online banking, direct deposit and e-statements.
- Opt out of receiving credit card and insurance offers. If you receive a pre-approved credit card offer, all any scammer would need to do would be to send the offer in and retrieve the new charge card. They would then use a change of address form to receive future statements.
- Don’t put your mail in a mailbox near the road with a flag up. That is a signal to any scammer who might pass your residence that there is mail in the box, which might contain a check.
- Once they retrieve a check, they can either alter the existing check or manufacture new checks by using the original as a copy.
- Pick up your mail promptly after delivery. Mail carriers are usually on a similar schedule each day, so picking up mail promptly after delivery is important.
- Make sure your mailbox is visible and free from shrubs, etc. so that anyone tampering is easily visible.
Report lost or stolen debit/ATM cards within two business days.
If you lose your debit/ATM card (or other access device) report it immediately. By contacting your financial institution within two business days of discovering the loss, you limit your liability to $50. Waiting more than two business days to report the loss increases your liability up to $500.
Warning Signs You May Be Getting Scammed
- Unsolicited Contact: Receiving unexpected calls, emails, or messages from unknown individuals or organizations claiming you have won a prize or owe money.
- High-Pressure Tactics: Being urged to act quickly or face dire consequences, such as threats of arrest or legal action if you don’t pay immediately.
- Requests for Personal Information: Scammers often ask for sensitive information like Social Security numbers, bank account details, or passwords.
- Requests to Keep It a Secret: Being told to keep the conversation confidential or not to discuss it with anyone, especially family or friends.
- Unusual Payment Methods: Being asked to pay using wire transfers, prepaid debit cards, or gift cards instead of traditional payment methods.
- Promises of Large Returns: Offers that seem too good to be true, such as guaranteed returns on investments or free gifts in exchange for a small fee.
- Spoofed Caller IDs: Calls that appear to be from a legitimate organization or government agency but are actually from scammers.
- Inconsistencies in Information: Mismatched details about the offer or the organization, such as misspellings or vague descriptions.
- Too Much Personal Information: Scammers often know personal details about you that can make their pitch seem credible, but this could be due to data breaches.
- Inability to Verify Claims: Legitimate companies or organizations should have verifiable contact information, but scammers often use fake or unverifiable details.
Caring For a Loved One: Recognize Financial Exploitation
There are signs that financial exploitation may be happening to you or a loved one. Watch for the following red flags:
- Unexpected large withdrawals or transfers: Unusual activity, such as sudden large purchases or money transfers, could signal fraud.
- New friends or caregivers requesting money: Be cautious if a new acquaintance or caregiver begins asking for money or gifts.
- Confusion or fear about finances: Seniors who are confused about their finances or who seem pressured into making decisions should seek assistance.
- Missing financial statements or documents: Unexplained disappearance of bank statements, checkbooks, or financial documents could be a sign that someone is trying to hide unauthorized activity.
Reporting Fraud
If you suspect financial exploitation, it’s important to act quickly. Here’s what to do:
- Contact Bank Five Nine Immediately. We’ll help you secure your accounts and investigate any suspicious activity.
- Call: (888) 569-9909
- Contact the Credit Bureaus and freeze your credit.
- Place a credit freeze with each of the three major credit bureaus:
- Equifax: Visit equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ or call 1-800-685-1111.
- Experian: Visit experian.com/freeze or call 1-888-397-3742.
- TransUnion: Visit transunion.com/credit-freeze or call 1-888-909-8872.
- Place a credit freeze with each of the three major credit bureaus:
- Report the Fraud: You can also report the fraud to your local police, adult protective services, or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
How We Help
Bank Five Nine offers services and support to protect seniors from financial exploitation:
- Fraud Monitoring: Our systems actively monitor for suspicious account activity, helping to catch potential fraud early.
- Account Alerts: You can set up text or email alerts to notify you of unusual transactions.
- Expert Assistance: Our knowledgeable staff is here to help with questions or concerns about your financial security.
Additional Helpful Resources
Following is a list of sources that can help seniors to protect themselves against financial scams and exploitation. Search for these organizations online to learn more:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- American Bankers Association – Banks Never Ask That
- Elder Financial Protection Network
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- National Center on Elder Abuse
- National Council on Aging
- National Do Not Call Registry
- National Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning
- Senior Medicare Patrol
- U.S. Administration on Aging
- Wisconsin Board on Aging & Long Term Care
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services
- Wisconsin Department of Justice
