Financial fraud isn’t anything new. Some date it back to 300 BC, when two Greek sea merchants took out an insurance policy on their ship and cargo. Then they decided to sink the ship and collect the money.
They were caught in the act, though. One died attempting to escape while the other faced the ire of the Athenian courts.
Today’s scams are more sophisticated, using modern technology to deceive, threaten and steal, creating havoc and ruining lives. And scammers seem to particularly target older citizens, specifically those past the age of 60.
With that in mind, Green Hills Community held a Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, July 23, to educate people on how to recognize scams and avoid becoming a victim. Lunch was provided by First Christian Church Bellefontaine through a National Benevolence Association grant.
According to Rebecca Marker-Smith, director of marketing at Green Hills, the session came about during a discussion with Kim Collum, executive director with Lutheran Community Services, at the Friday coffee connection they hold for residents.
“The next question was who is a credible resource for this,” Marker-Smith told attendees, “and I don’t think anyone could be more credible than the Ohio Attorney General’s office.”
She then introduced their guest speaker, Ryan Lippe, who works as an educator in the office’s consumer protection section. After a brief overview of his work, Lippe talked about why seniors are targeted.
Reasons include a lack of technical knowledge, the impression—real or not—that they have more money and assets, their tendency to be trusting and polite, and the belief that seniors will be too embarrassed at being duped to report incidents of fraud.
Still, Lippe said, they try to avoid language like “duped,” explaining, “Even people with high IQs have been scammed.”
Seniors also tend to be more independent and, often, isolated, leading them to feel they have to fend for themselves.
Lippe then went over the main scams to watch out for:
• Grandparent Scam: This is a common one. The scammer calls, pretending to be someone’s grandchild who’s in dire straits. They might start the conversation by asking, for instance, “Grandma, do you know who this is?”
All they have to do is get her to say the name of a grandchild and they have it, easily slipping into that role. And if Grandma says they sound different, they can reassure her it’s just because they have a cold.
They tell Grandma they’re in big trouble and need money to get out of it. Flattered at the thought of being needed, Grandma quickly hands over the requested funds, only to realize later it was all a lie.
Lippe gave three suggestions for such a call:
1. Ask a question only a family member would know.
2. Hang up and call a relative to confirm, preferably the grandchild’s parent.
3. Never, ever send money.
• Imposter Scam: Pretending to be a government agency like the IRS or Social Security, these scammers uses scare tactics and threats to intimidate someone into giving them money to “get things right.”
Or they might pretend to be a business and claim you need to verify or dispute a purchase you didn’t actually make. And, of course, you have to send money to fix it.
With any of these, the best thing to do is hang up without giving any information, find the agency’s or business’s legitimate phone number (never use the one provided in the message or email), and call them for the truth of the situation.
• Prizes/Sweepstakes Scams: These scammers contact you with the news you’ve won a contest or lottery and all you have to do to collect your prize is send them a fee.
“If you didn’t enter it,” Lippe reminded the audience, “you probably didn’t win.”
• Fake Check Scam: Promising payment for an item you sold (you didn’t) or to purchase equipment for a work-from-home job (that you don’t have), this scammer sends you a check. This check looks so legitimate, it can even fool bank tellers.
So you deposit it with the understanding you need to send some back or to a third party. But though this fake check never clears, the money you paid in return is very real … and very gone.
• Computer Repair Scam: Never trust cold calls claiming to represent Microsoft or “tech support” or “the geek squad.” They’ll tell you your computer has a virus and they can help you if you grant them remote access.
This is a lie. Once you allow it, they can destroy your computer and grab any information they want while they’re in there.
“If you get a message to call a toll-free number to take care of a computer virus, that’s a scam,” Lippe said.
• Relationship Scams: While there are several scams under this umbrella, probably the most common promises the victim a romantic relationship. This is what might be called a “long con,” as the scammer often will put in weeks, even months, toward convincing someone of their sincerity.
They usually say they live overseas, so you can’t meet, and, eventually, they will start asking for money to help with airfare, medical costs or some other expense.
But it’s not love. It’s a con artist following a script. They prey on loneliness, and probably have several victims on the hook at the same time.
This list only begins to show the extent and deceitfulness of today’s scams. The best thing you can do is be aware. Always question. Never send money to any cold call looking for payment or threatening email demanding it.
In fact, it might be best to just start out questioning any messages or emails or phone calls you don’t recognize or that make any kind of claim on your finances. Make them prove their legitimacy. Don’t trust; always verify.
Or, to really be on the safe side, ignore, delete or hang up.
To find out more or to report a scam, visit OhioProtects.org or call 800-282-0515.
