Unfortunately, with the advent of the internet, we are seeing so much more of this kind of attack against our seniors.
Case in point: A young woman contact our office regarding her grandmother and yet another possible scam for some quick cash. The granddaughter wanted us to check out the background of a young man claiming to be a doctor who was also a treasure hunting diver. His targeted e-mail stated that he had located a wreckage from the 1700’s and that it was worth millions in gold bullion, all he needed was some financial investors to help cover the costs and he would be splitting everyone in for an equal amount, minus a finder’s fee and expenses.
Like so many of these scams, it sounded plausible. These cons buy mailing lists from magazine companies, drug companies, travel websites- there are so many people out there willing to sell your information to people with unscrupulous intentions. In this case, the grandmother liked to travel and one of her grandsons was into diving, so she would read the magazines to live vicariously through him. Not an uncommon thing when you are older, missing the days before time caught up with your body. Completely understandable. The grandmother sent this “diver” nearly $6,000.00. Her granddaughter became suspicious when the older woman received another e-mail stating that due to unforeseen cost overruns of the salvage venture, they required more money to finish bringing up the gold.
It didn’t take much for me to find out:
- the guy wasn’t a doctor;
- that 90% of what he had told her was a lie (he was a man); and
- there was no diving expedition or wreckage that had been salvaged or was in the process of being salvaged.
Much along the scam situations of the African prince trying to regain his fortune or the Social Security is going to suspend you social security number or the one where a grandchild is in jail and needs bail money, these scams are designed to con as much money out of trusting senior citizens as they can.
It is nearly an epidemic that can be prevented. Here are a few tips:
- The old adage about “too good to be true” should be applied.
- Ensure that you don’t give out your social security number anywhere- especially on-line.
- Always back-check an e-mail, especially if you didn’t initiate the contact, if you don’t recognize the e-mail- delete it!
- NO ONE from the government is going to call you if you owe money. They always send letters through the US Postal service.
Con scams run on the assumption that senior citizens are easy marks and can be easily separated from their money. Don’t be an easy mark!
This is a great article on elderly fraud scams! We see this all the time in Fraud Prevention across various financial institutions. Elderly abuse has no limitations. From romance scams to family impersonations, scam artists prey on the elderly at all costs. Romance scams are at an all-time high. Scammers take advantage of our seniors being lonely and so, they befriend them, build rapport, position the relationship and then scam them out of thousands of dollars. It is heartbreaking explaining these types of scams to our seniors. They truly believe that they are in a legitimate relationship even though they have never seen their partner, they live in a different state from their partner and they are always asked to send money. When we ask probing questions like how did you meet, how long have you been dating, have you ever met them in person and how often do you send them money; some we are able to convince them to see the truth about the scam artist and some are just really adamant about the validity of their relationship. It would be great if businesses like financial institutions and investigative services offered classes on how seniors can avoid being a mark. Great article!