Sadly, the amount of money and information lost to fraud and scams has steadily increased over the last decade and actually accelerated in the past two years. This seems to defy logic. After all, common wisdom tells us that there is a greater awareness of criminal activity given the work of AARP, the BBB, government agencies, and business. But scammers are successful because, regardless of the educational effort, human nature works against the victims. Here are a few of the reasons we see for not heeding warnings.
1) At the top of the list, “I’m too smart to be scammed.” Quite often, education is cited as a reason for ignoring the message, but the reality is that the criminals target “smart” people because advanced education means higher salaries and greater assets. A cardiologist may be “smart” in terms of medical knowledge, but far less capable in thwarting the criminal. A criminal is a professional, well-schooled in scamming. 2) The message is being delivered by AARP, and if I’m not a member, or for that matter, I’m not old or retired, I may not see the message as relevant to me. But fraud is not the province of senior citizens. In reality, there are more fraud victims between the ages of 25 – 45 than victims over the age of 65; 3) Next, “I don’t have much money so they won’t care about me.” True, the wealthy make for nice targets, but stealing money or information from them is more difficult and involves more work. Scamming a lot of people out of a few hundred dollars each may not carry a big reward, but several small payoffs can be just as profitable in the long run.
There are steps to take that will help. First, avoid “The Ether,” a heightened state of emotion. A late-night call from a friend or family member in trouble, a threatening notice of pending arrest, or a congratulatory call from Publisher’s Clearing House can put you in the ether. When confronted by an emotional situation, don’t succumb to urgency. Step back and allow reason to return.
Know that technology can be manipulated. Phone numbers on a caller ID can be altered by a computer. You may want to consider not answering the phone unless you recognize the number displayed. Be prepared to hang up when you sense something wrong. Be wary of robocalls; most are scams. Don’t connect with an agent and ignore instructions for removal from a call list. That action will only confirm your number as operational and set you up for more calls.
As a computer user, be cautious entering information on websites. Never provide ID’s and passwords, unless you can verify the website as correct. Examine the address line on the web page or address on an email message to confirm its accuracy. A scammer may create a copycat website for TDbank.com with the name TDbnk.com.
One final self-defense step for today: Be cautious with postings on social media. Scammers examine social media and profile intended victims for scams.
Taking these few steps will go far in providing a degree of protections from victimization.
Elliott Greenblott is a retired educator and coordinator of the AARP Vermont Fraud Watch Network. Questions or concerns? Contact egreenblott@aarp.org.