Rights & Benefits Information
We Aren’t Dealing with Your Dad’s Scammers Anymore The problem is not going away because scamming is highly profitable. I saw how criminals who previously committed street level crimes have migrated into financial
By Brian Watson , Community Outreach Specialist with R.O.S.E. Resources/ Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly I want to take you back to the late 1990s. There were no smart phones or social media yet. Only 50% of Americans used email. Our biggest concern was Y2K and if our lights would still be working. I was a Special Agent with the IRS and I did presentations to warn the public about financial scams. Back then, it was all about dumpster divers going through your trash trying to steal your identity. Or poorly written emails from a fake Nigerian prince who wanted to share some money with you. Scams were easy to spot and not so prevalent. Fast forward 25 years and everything has changed. Scams are often perpetrated by criminal gangs based in foreign countries. They are ruthless financial predators reading from scripts that have proven to work. They are not happy with taking a few thousand dollars. They will take over all of your bank accounts and investments. Years of hard work and savings can be wiped out in minutes. I have interviewed a lot of victims in my career. It is heartbreaking to hear their stories. We are experiencing a perfect storm of technology combined with a generation of very trusting people who are used to answering the phone and being polite. Now you are expected to have a smart phone and internet access. All of our personal and financial information is in the palm of our hands. Scammers can use our phones and computers as portals to victimize us.
scams. Someone with a computer or phone can wreak havoc from anywhere in the world. They can make more money and do it from the safety of a house or apartment. How big is the problem? According to the FBI’s Elder Fraud Report, Americans 60 years and older lost more than three billion dollars in 2022. The Federal Trade Commission reports that less than 20% of Americans 70 and older report being the victim of a financial scam even though this age group has the highest median loss. There are the obvious reasons for not reporting: embarrassment, not realizing you have been victimized, or not bothering to do anything since the money is long gone. I have recently learned many people don’t report being victimized because they don’t want their family to find out about the loss because it might result in losing financial independence or even the ability to live on their own. You need a plan because the scammers will call and email you. My best advice is don’t even think about getting into the ring with financial scammers. It is not a fair fight. I used to think that most victims must have suffered from some sort of cognitive decline. In my short time in the non-profit world, the victims I have met are educated, intelligent, and financially independent. Often their only mistake was answering the phone and engaging with a scammer.
I don’t want anyone to live in fear. You control your own destiny. If you accidently answer one of these calls, hang up immediately. If you are not sure if something is legitimate, call a trusted friend or the police. Making that call will save you money, time, and stress. Every law enforcement agency would gladly spend time with you prior to being a victim than having to deal with the aftermath of a financial scam. If you take care of someone who might fall for a scam, have those conversations now instead of after the money is gone. Go to roseadvocacy.org for more information and to sign up to receive a monthly email on the latest scams targeting seniors. Brian Watson, Community Outreach Specialist with R.O.S.E. Resources/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly
Page 14 | January/February 2024, Never Too Late
Pima Council on Aging
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