REGION – Summer in New England is beginning to fade away. Sadly, daylight hours are in decline, but scam activity continues to grow.
We tend to believe that intelligence can protect us from harm. A commonly heard statement is “I’m too smart to be scammed!” The reality is that being “smart” is not a protection against fraud, regardless of one’s knowledge, education, or area of expertise. Just read about these well-known celebrities from a variety of fields who joined the victims list: Sandy Koufax, John Malkovich, Steven Spielberg, Ben Stiller. What do they have in common? They’re well-educated, highly successful, and trusted the wrong people with their finances. In fact, being well-educated can be seen as why some people become scam targets; higher education often translates into higher income.
A second myth: “I have nothing of value for a scammer.” Wealth, while certainly attractive to criminals, is not the key to victimization. The end goal is financial gain through theft and use of assets or personal information. For example, a younger person can be an attractive target for identity theft where data is used to impersonate and create new credit or bank accounts. While the victim may have low net worth, the criminal is still able to capitalize from the stolen information.
Finally, there is a sense that “fraud is something that happens to old people.” Yes, that is true. The elderly are victimized, but so are the new-born and everyone in between. Con artists are truly nondiscriminatory. Victim age, gender, personal health, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, marital status, assets, or physical location really do not matter. To paraphrase a marketing slogan, “There’s a scam for that!”
The Federal Trade Commission regularly compiles statistics on scams and fraud, noting that there is a higher likelihood of victimization between the ages of 25-45 than for senior citizens. Seniors, who typically have more assets, see higher dollar losses, but successfully scamming younger people can have a high long-term payoff. The likelihood of a scam victim being scammed again is higher than those who have not been victimized. Common sense may say, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” The reality is that most of those who are scammed do not truly learn from the episode. Consider this as you might consider New Year’s Resolutions. On Jan. 1, we resolve to lose 10 pounds by Valentine’s Day. By the third week of January we have abandoned the cause. It’s not a matter of forgetting the resolution; it is a matter of changing behavior. Similarly, suffering losses a second time is not the result of a lack of education or abandonment, it is a failure to change root behaviors that led to the first loss.
Fraud self-defense, whether in dismissing the myths or by increasing awareness, requires a commitment to behavior change; recognizing risky behavior on the phone, online, or in person. AARP Fraud Watch focuses on public education and awareness of the fraud environment and ecosystem through distribution of literature, public media, special events, and seminars. Contact me, egreenblott@aarp.org, if you are interested in accessing our resources or scheduling a presentation. Also, consider becoming an AARP Fraud Watch volunteer to assist in raising awareness in others. We assist in training, and the nature of your involvement is yours to determine.
Special alert: an active scam is targeting Justices of the Peace (JP). The scam involves contact by a person planning a wedding and in need of a JP. A wedding schedule is set, and the contact sends an advance payment for services with an overpayment. A follow-up email notes the “error,” which included payment to a third party (photographer?) and requests the JP forward that amount to a third party. Before cashing any check or forwarding money, verify names of those involved, address for the wedding or reception, and where the license was obtained. If you find that it is a scam, report it state officials.
Elliott Greenblott is a retired educator and coordinator of the AARP Vermont Fraud Watch Network.