Topic: fraud alert
Over the Christmas holiday, the mom of one of my good friends gave $10,000 to a phone scammer. Earlier that month, I visited a Rotary meeting and one of their members shared that he had just been scammed by a call he thought was his bank. Last week, I heard from a prospective client that her sister had just given her entire savings away to an internet scammer.
What all three of these people have in common is that they are all in their 70’s, vibrant, active, and engaged in their lives. We typically think of victims of scams as being “vulnerable” and isolated. Yet scammers have gotten so skilled, they are forcing us to re-think who is vulnerable to being scammed. These days, we are all at risk.
Internet and phone scams are on the rise and will only continue to increase over time as scammers continue to refine their skill and gain continued success. No one is immune and scammers target all ages. However, “the people losing money are disproportionately sixty and older, with those eighty and older losing most of all,” states M.T. Connolly, attorney, author, and leading national expert on elder justice (Connolly, The Measure of Our Age, 106). …
Updated March 4, 2024; previously published April 14, 2021
Being caught in a tax scam can happen to anyone, even though most of us think we’re too smart to get fleeced. Unfortunately, even the most cautious person can get ripped off. When older adults are defrauded, the effects can be devastating.
One insidious fraud making the rounds during tax season involves IRS impersonators. Swindlers claiming to be from the IRS tell intended victims they owe taxes and must pay using a pre-paid debit card, money order or a wire transfer. They threaten those who refuse to pay with a grand jury indictment, immediate arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license. …
IRS Impersonators & Tax Scams Targeting Older AdultsRead More »
It’s tax season and the con artists are hard at work trying to scam you and separate you from your money.
“The IRS does not email, text, or call you. If the IRS needs to communicate with you because there’s a problem with your taxes, they send you a letter — snail mail, good old US mail. It’s part of the government,” cautions ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum. …
IRS Scam: Wisdom from ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum, Part 4/4Read More »
In this episode, ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum has urgent, important advice regarding scam calls. Any of us can be scammed!
If you find yourself being pressured by a caller asking for personal information such as a bank card or Social Security number, or insisting you pay a bill with gift cards, HANG UP! These are professional criminals. They know how to use emotion and fear to get consumers to do what they demand.
“There’s almost nothing in this world I can think of that has to be done instantaneously or it’s gone forever,” Herb warns. …
Anyone Can Be Scammed: Wisdom from ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum, Part 3/4Read More »
Our special guest this week (and for upcoming episodes) is ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum, one of America’s top consumer experts. Known nationally as ConsumerMan, Herb’s been protecting consumers for more than 40 years. Check below for Herb’s website and newsletter information.
Herb does a lot of stories that look out for older adults. ConsumerMan is a font of well-researched, practical information and alerts that help make us wiser consumers: …
Don’t Click That Link! Wisdom from ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum, Part 1/4Read More »
Being caught in tax scams can happen to anyone, even though most of us think we’re too smart to get fleeced. Unfortunately, even the most cautious person can get ripped off. When older adults are defrauded, the effects can be devastating.
One insidious fraud making the rounds during tax season involves IRS impersonators. Swindlers claiming to be from the IRS tell intended victims they owe taxes and must pay using a pre-paid debit card, money order or a wire transfer. They threaten those who refuse to pay with a grand jury indictment, immediate arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license. …