Anyone at any time can be a victim of fraud. Unfortunately, there’s one group that scammers and fraudsters continue to target: Individuals 60 years old and older. In April 2023, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, elder fraud complaints it received rose 14% over the previous year, with 101,000 victims in 2023. These individual lost a collective $3.4 billion! The average amount lost was nearly $34,000. And nearly 6,000 people lost more than $100,000.*
Fraud targeting individuals over 60 covers everything from personal data breaches to confidence and romance scams to identity theft, spoofing, and more.
According to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, the top five scams targeting seniors are:
1. Government impersonation: You receive a call or text from someone claiming to be with the IRS, Social Security Administration, Medicare, or another government agency, claiming you have unpaid taxes or bills and threatening to arrest or deport you or cut off your benefits if you don’t pay or provide personal identifying information immediately.
Play it safe:
- Medicare and Social Security will not call you asking for your bank information or Social Security Number.
- There will never be a fee charged to obtain a Social Security or Medicare card.
- Don’t trust a name or phone number. Scammers use government-sounding names to make you trust them and use technology to disguise their phone number to make it look like it’s coming from a legitimate government agency.
- Never give out or confirm financial or personal information over the phone.
- Keep your sensitive personal and financial documents secure at all times.
- Review all medical bills to spot any services you didn’t receive.
2. Fake sweepstakes and lottery: You’ve won the lottery or a great prize! All you have to do to claim it is send money, cash, or gift cards up front to cover taxes and processing fees. There’s only one problem. There is no prize. You’ve won nothing. It’s a scam.
Play it safe:
- Scammers often pressure people into wiring money, putting money on a prepaid debit card, or sending a check or money order using an overnight delivery or courier service.
- Never give out or confirm your financial or other sensitive information unless you know who you’re speaking with. If you have doubts, hang up.
- As with government impersonation scams, don’t trust a name or phone number. Scammers use official-sounding names to make you trust them and use technology to disguise their phone number to make it look like it’s coming from a legitimate government agency.
3. Robocalls and phone scams: You get a call, and the voice on the other end asks, “Can you hear me?” Or they ask a simple yes or no question. When you say “yes,” the scammer records your voice and hangs up. The scammer uses your voice signature to authorize unwanted charges.
Play it safe:
- Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
- You may be unable to tell immediately if an incoming call is a spoof (a caller pretending to be someone else to earn your trust). Be aware: Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
- Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
- If you answer the phone and the caller – or a recording – asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
- Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security Numbers, mother’s maiden name, passwords, or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
- If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, especially if the caller asks for a payment.
4. Computer tech support and pop-up: A pop-up message on your computer or mobile device says your device is damaged and needs to be fixed. When you call the support number, the scammer asks for remote access to your computer or requests payment to repair it. Don’t do it! If you give the person access, they can lock your computer, holding it hostage until you pay them to “fix” it. They can also search your device for valuable information like your banking information. To learn how to protect yourself against tech support scams, read this article from the National Council on Aging.
Play it safe:
- Don’t click any links or call a phone number.
- Don’t send any money or make a wire transfer.
- Don’t pay with a gift card.
- Don’t give anyone your bank account, credit card number, or other payment information.
- Don’t give anyone control of your computer.
- If you need help fixing a problem, go to someone you know and trust to help you.
5. Grandchild in trouble (family emergency) scam: Imagine getting a call from someone claiming to be your grandchild. They say they are in trouble and need help with a financial emergency such as overdue rent, car repair, lost credit card, or even needing money to pay a bond to get out of jail. And they ask you not to tell anyone about the request, especially the grandchild’s parents.
Play it safe:
- Resist the urge to act immediately, no matter how dramatic the story is.
- Verify the person’s identity by asking questions a stranger couldn’t answer.
- Call a phone number for your family member or friend that you know to be genuine.
- Check the story out with someone else in your family or circle of friends, even if you’ve been told to keep it a secret.
Tips to help you identify fraud
Identifying a scammer isn’t easy. Anyone, regardless of age, can fall victim. Remember, these criminals are not just after your money, they also want your personal information. We’ve covered some tips to help you address specific scams above, here are a few more ways to help you detect a scam. The person contacting you via phone or text is:
• Pressuring you to make decisions fast and may threaten you.
• Using a fake Caller ID to disguise their actual phone number. Just because the phone number on your Caller ID is the same as your financial institution or credit card company doesn’t mean it is.
• Pressuring you not to consult with friends and family.
• Urging you to hand over personal information like your Social Security Number or financial institution account numbers.
• Always remember: if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
What to do if you feel you’re being or have been scammed.
Stop. Take a breath. Now, take action. Hang up the phone. Do not respond to random texts. Call your financial institution or credit card company using the phone number on your statement or the back of your credit card to alert them you suspect you’ve been a victim of fraud.
Report the incident to the FTC. Your report is shared with more than 2,800 law enforcers. You can also file a complaint or report with the FBI.
To help limit illegal and unwanted calls, contact your phone provider. Here are additional call-blocking tools and resources from the Federal Communications Commission.
If you receive a suspicious call, hang up, and please call the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging’s Fraud Hotline at 1.855.303.9470.
Final thoughts.
Unfortunately, protecting yourself from scammers and fraudsters is getting more difficult as their techniques become more sophisticated. You must remain vigilant and cautious of anyone or any offer related to your finances and personal information. Here are a few resources filled with information to help protect you.
- Visit our Security Center for tips and information to help you keep your guard up.
- The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging has created a detailed report on fraud targeting older individuals. It covers the five scams we’ve outlined in greater detail and includes information to help you protect yourself.
Remember, we will never text or call you asking for your private information, such as your social security number, account or credit card number, username, password, one-time passcode, etc., over the phone unless you initiated the call directly to us.
If you receive a text or call from someone claiming to be a Credit Union employee asking for your account information (such as your online banking username, password, one-time passcode, credit card number, account number, etc.), do not give it to them. Even if the caller has an identifying piece of information about you or the call appears to be from our 800 number. This call is NOT legitimate. As mentioned above, scammers can spoof phone numbers to make it appear that the call is from a trusted source. The Credit Union will not randomly call you and ask for this information. Hang up and contact us directly at 800.877.2345. Be safe. Be vigilant. Be aware.
*Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Elder Fraud Report 2023,” Accessed 6 June 2024.