Every year the elderly population loses more than $36 billion due to financial scams. With the holiday season coming up, con artists will be out in full force trying to swindle you out of your hard-earned money. Educating yourself and knowing what to look for are the first steps in protecting yourself from making a mistake. Here are the most common scams to look out for over the holidays:
The IRS Isn’t Calling You
When it comes to communication, the IRS is old fashioned. They won’t send you an email or message and they surely will never call you. If the IRS wants to contact you they will use good ol’ snail mail. IRS phone scams are nothing new, but the most recent one can be threatening and worrisome if you don’t know what you are looking for. According to the IRS, the new scam is highly sophisticated with con artists filing fake tax returns with stolen personal information and then using that person’s bank account information to have the refund deposited into their account. They will then call you—as the IRS—to collect and demand the return of the refund. Once again, the IRS will never call you or send you any emails, texts or social media messages so receiving any of those should be a red flag immediately. If you feel like you or a loved one are a victim of tax fraud, visit this IRS page for more information.
The Grandchild Scam
Preying on emotions is the foundation of scams and this con does just that. A scammer will obtain a senior’s phone number and call pretending to be one of their grandchildren in a financial bind. Often, they will even use the name of an actual grandchild, taking the information off a social media profile. An example of this scam happened to a grandmother of an employee at DDV Law, Ltd. The caller convinced the senior that he was her grandson, said he was stopped at the U.S. border trying to drive back from Canada and needed her to send him money to pay a fine. Luckily, the grandmother was skeptical as the border was nowhere near where they lived, but it is important to see how easy it is for a scammer to play off emotions. A simple thing to do in these situations is to hang up and dial or text the grandchild’s cell phone to verify that it was them. Note: Never send money via Western Union or MoneyGram unless you are completely sure you know who the recipient is. With so many ways to transfer money, these two should always throw up a red flag when requested.
Sweepstakes Scam
This con has been around for some time, but is still one that people fall for constantly. A scammer will contact a senior letting them know they have won a prize or money but that they will have to pay a fee to collect it. They will send a fake check in the mail, but by the time the senior realizes it is fake, the “fee” is already gone. A great rule of thumb is to never give out any financial information over the phone or via email. It may seem exciting at first, but there’s almost a zero percent chance that you or a loved one would ever randomly win a prize or contest that you/they did not enter.
Medicare Scam
With the change in health care laws it is now particularly easy for con artists to obtain information regarding seniors’ health-care providers. This makes it simple for a scammer to take advantage of a person as they can effortlessly pose as a Medicare representative. There are numerous different types of Medicare scams out there but there are a couple warning signs to look out for. For example, a scammer might ask for a Social Security number to renew a Medicare card or attempt to collect a fee to continue benefits. While they may seem knowledgeable about the benefits, simply ask them to verify some personal information about yourself or your family member as a real Medicare worker will always have that file on them.
“Woodchuck” Scam
Another age-old con, the “woodchuck” scam is one that typically targets seniors living by themselves. A “contractor” will convince a senior to let them do house repairs in an effort to obtain that senior’s trust. Once the senior has confidence in the “contractor”, the scam artist will start making up fake repairs—often big projects—and disappear with the money. Always verify the legitimacy of anyone doing work on you or your loved one’s home by doing a license search or contacting the business they claim to be working for.
Mortgage Scam
As housing confidence is reaching record highs, scammers have started using this mindset to their advantage. The Mortgage scam is simple: a con artist contacts a senior and offers them a property assessment for a fee. The scammer will then send a professional looking letter detailing an assortment of information on the senior’s home. It all looks legitimate except for all the information can be found online for free. As with the “woodchuck” scam, double check on the company the property assessor claims they work for to verify their legitimacy.
[via: marketwatch.com & businessinsider.com]
If you know of someone who has been scammed, please contact our office for assistance in recovery of these funds. While we cannot accept every case, we are assembling your stories to promote changes in the law to protect seniors and their families. Please fill out the form below for immediate assistance.
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