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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 31, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: elder fraud ( 4 ), elder scam ( 6 ), elderly ( 8 ), identity theft ( 96 ), medicare ( 15 ), open enrollment ( 5 ), Scams ( 1,221 ), seniors   

  It’s the season for more scams against seniors 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Senior citizens are often the targets of scams because of a perceived unfamiliarity with technology. This is a recurring theme throughout the year. However, until December 7th, seniors will be the target of even more scams. That’s because now is the open enrollment period for Medicare. Until December 7th, Medicare recipients will be able to decide if they want to stay with their current Medicare coverage or switch to a new insurer. Unfortunately, open enrollment is also open season for Medicare scammers.

  The most prevalent scam seniors will have to look out for are identity theft schemes. Scammers will call their senior victims, posing as either Medicare or some other insurer. The scammers will try to get their victims to give them their personal information by asking the victim to verify their identity. In some instances, scammers will try to get the victim’s personal information by promising them better benefits at a lower cost.

  It’s not just identity theft the scammers are after, either. Medicare fraud has been a growing problem for years. Medicare scammers could use their victim’s Medicare information to file for fraudulent benefits. Not only does this make Medicare more expensive, but could also limit a recipient’s benefits in the future.

  Please keep in mind that Medicare or some other insurer is probably not calling you. Even if the number shows up on your phone as Medicare, the odds are the call isn’t from them. Phone numbers can be easily spoofed to make the call appear like it’s coming from Medicare.

  In the majority of cases, if you feel the need to change your coverage, you need to call Medicare or your insurer. If someone calls you claiming to be from Medicare during open enrollment, you can hang up the call. You are not required to take any calls that appear to be from Medicare. Then call Medicare or your insurer from the number on the back of your insurance card.

  And always remember to never give your Medicare or insurance ID number to any strangers over the phone.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 3, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: grandparent scam ( 65 ), Safety ( 44 ), Scams ( 1,221 ), seniors   

  Grandparent scammers victimize woman three times 

  

  One of the many problems with being a scam victim is that often the scammers will try to victimize from you again. Usually, the scammers will try to fool you again with a different scam. For example, a scammer might have fooled you with a police impersonation scam. Then, the scammers may try to fleece you again using a Social Security scam. It’s rare to hear of a scammer using the same scam multiple times on the same victim but that’s exactly what happened to an elderly woman in upstate New York.

  In Amsterdam, New York, an 88-year-old woman was contacted by someone who claimed to be her grandson. The scammer said they had been arrested and needed $7,000 in cash for legal fees. The woman gathered the money and sent it to an address in New Jersey.

  A month and a half later, she received another call from the same ‘grandson’. This time they were asking for $10,000 in cash after the phony grandson claimed to be in a car accident.

  Later on, the victim was contacted again. Once again, the phony grandson was asking for another $10,000. This time, an employee at the shipping service she was using asked her about the package. When the woman told them it was cash for grandson the delivery employee believed she was being scammed and contacted the state police.

  Unfortunately, if you’ve fallen for a scam in the past, it’s likely that scammers will try to target you again. Like we said previously, it’s usually with a different scam but it’s not unheard of for scammers to use the same scam multiple times and the grandparent scam is the perfect scam to use that way. If a victim believes the scammer is their grandchild once, they may believe it again.

  As we always advise when it comes to the grandparent scam, if you receive one of these calls, hang up. Then call the actual person the scammers are claiming to be to make sure they’re not in any actual trouble. If it were a legitimate call from a grandchild, they’re not going to be in any more trouble if you stop to take the time to verify their story. You can also ask the caller a question that only they would know or set up a family password to indicate the call is legitimate.

  Again we ask that if you know an elderly person or couple who live alone and do not have access to the internet, please let them know about this scam.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on August 31, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: elderly ( 8 ), grandparent scam ( 65 ), Safety ( 44 ), Scams ( 1,221 ), seniors   

  Scammers are showing up at seniors’ doors 

  

  If you’re not a senior citizen yourself, you may have an elderly relative. They may live alone and a great distance from you. Would you want strangers showing up to their door and taking thousands of dollars in your relative’s money? How upsetting to you would that be if it happened to someone in your family? Unfortunately, this is happening to many families around the country in this scary new twist on the grandparent scam.

  Just in case you’re unfamiliar with the grandparent scam it’s when a scammer calls a senior citizen and poses as one of their grandchildren or some other relative. The scammers will say that they’re in some kind of trouble. Usually, they’ll say that they’ve been arrested and need money for bail. Other times they’ll say that they’re in the hospital and need money for treatment. We’ve even seen some cases where they’ll say they’re overseas and they need money to get home.

  As you can see, the common goal of the scam is to get money from elderly victims. Scammers used to get money from their victims in this scam by having them buy gift cards and having the victims give the gift card numbers to the scammer over the phone. Just as an aside, we’d like to remind you that gift cards are commonly used in all sorts of scams, so please keep in mind that no legitimate company or agency will ask for payment over the phone in gift cards.

  Now, grandparent scammers have developed an increasingly worrying tactic. Instead of asking for gift cards over the phone, scammers are employing go-betweens who act as couriers to pick up the money personally. In at least one case in Ohio, a woman was scammed out of $15,000 when a scammer posed as her grandson in Florida claiming to need bail. The scammers had someone go to her home and physically collect the $15,000 in cash.

  While we haven’t heard of any of these scammers getting physical with their victims, the potential is always there.

  The best way to deal with these scams is to contact the person the scammers are claiming to be. Scammers may sound convincing due to the fact that they get a lot of their information from social media. However, even if the call is real no one is going to be sentenced to life in prison or thrown out of the hospital if you hang up on the phone call from the supposed grandchild.

  If you know an elderly person or couple who live alone and do not have access to the internet, please let them know about this scam. Also, consider setting up a family password for just such emergencies so you can verify the person calling is who they say they are.

  The grandparent scam with the COVID cover | Greg's Corner and Dave Smith are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Dave Smith 8:45 pm on August 31, 2020 Permalink

    They sound convincing, one called me and sounded just like my grandson from of out state.
    When I ask him what his mother’s name was, what was my name, what was his father’s name he started acting like the phone connection was bad, I told him until he could answer my questions I wasnt sending him anything. He hung up the phone. They are very convincing,
    If I hadn’t worked in Security I would have believed the story. DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS ON THE PHONE!

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  Geebo 9:00 am on February 24, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: impostor scam ( 13 ), Scams ( 1,221 ), seniors, tech support scam ( 43 ), utility scam ( 30 )   

  Help protect seniors from scams 

  

  Today, we’re focusing on a number of scams that have targeted seniors recently.

  The first is what’s known as the tech support scam. In these cases, scammers will pose as tech companies telling seniors that they have viruses on their computers. Usually, the scammers will ask for remote access to your computer. They’ll then install malware on the computer and ask for your financial information as their payment. In a recent case in Florida, two suspects were allegedly pulling this scam and having their victims send thousands of dollars to the scammers under the guise of getting rid of a virus on the victim’s computer. They were able to scam $81,000 out of several seniors from across the country before they were caught. If anyone calls you to tell you that you have a virus, it’s always a scam.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWyWCZVoD4M%5D

  Not all scams against seniors are done over the phone or online. Many scammers are still posing as utility workers. Recently, in San Antonio, Texas a man posed as an AT&T employee. The man went to a senior woman’s home and offered her a deal for TV, internet, and cell service. The woman wrote out a check before finding out that the man did not work for AT&T. The man in question was even wearing an AT&T employee’s shirt. If you ever have any doubts about a utility worker approaching your home always ask to see their worker’s ID. If you’re still unsatisfied you can also call the company’s local office to verify their identity.

  Lastly, both the Federal Trade Commission and the AARP say that the most common scam perpetrated against seniors is the impostor scam. This is when scammers pose as a government agency such as the IRS or Social Security. The scammers will call you on the phone and try to pressure you into making some kind of payment over the phone, often through unusual means like gift cards or wiring the money. Both the FTC and the AARP are expecting scammers to take advantage of the 2020 census as well which we discussed here. If you did owe a government agency money or there was an issue with your Social Security benefits you would receive a letter and not a phone call.

  While you may not be vulnerable to these scams if you know someone who might be please share this post with them.