In an era dominated by technology, the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. While it has opened up new avenues for communication, learning, and entertainment, it has also given rise to a darker side — online scams. Older adults, in particular, are often targeted by those seeking to exploit their trust and lack of familiarity with the digital landscape. In fact, folks over the age of 60 lost an estimated $3.1 billion in 2022 through online scams.
At Community Tech Network, we help older adults learn how to use the internet. However, our mission extends beyond teaching the technical intricacies of the digital world, such as where to click on a screen or how to visit a website. We delve deeper by incorporating internet safety into our curriculum, recognizing it as a crucial component of digital literacy. This approach equips individuals with the skills to navigate the internet confidently and independently.
In this blog post, we’ll explore common online scams that pose a threat to older adults and discuss strategies to protect them from falling victim.
By raising awareness and implementing proactive measures, you can empower yourself and those close to you to navigate the digital landscape safely and avoid potential pitfalls that may compromise personal information and financial security.
Common Online Scams Faced by Older Adults
1. Grandparent Scams: Preying on Emotions
Grandparent scams involve someone claiming to be a grandchild in distress, urgently needing financial assistance to pay for something like overdue rent, a car repair, or a jail bond.
In other scenarios, scammers may pretend to be a police officer, lawyer, doctor, or other official claiming that they need money to help the older adult’s grandchild. The scammer preys on the emotions of older adults, manipulating them into sending money quickly. In 2021, older adults lost an estimated $6.5 million on grandparent scams.
The “grandchild” typically begs the older adult to not tell anyone, saying things like, “Please don’t tell mom and dad, they’ll kill me!”
It’s essential for older adults to verify the identity of the person by asking personal questions that only their grandchild would know and to contact other family members to confirm the situation.
It is also important to note that scammers often research the potential victim prior to contacting them. Thus, if an older adult does not have grandchildren but does have children, the scammer would likely use the same tactic but pretend to be the person’s son or daughter.
Last, social media accounts can get hacked. If someone obtains access to your Facebook, Instagram, or other account, immediately inform all of your friends and followers to ignore any messages from “you” that ask for money.
2. Lottery, Sweepstakes, Prize, and Inheritance Fund Scams: False Promises of Wealth
Scammers often target older adults with promises of lottery winnings, prizes, or the inheritance of a recently deceased distant relative. However, they require payment of fees or taxes upfront. This is one of the most common scams used against older adults, who lost approximately $70 million this way in 2022 alone.
Possible Warning Signs:
- You receive a notification saying that you’ve won a contest that you never entered.
- In order to access your prize money, you need to pay the upfront fees and taxes.
- Once you provide your banking information, a check with the prize money is deposited into your account. However, this check bounces within a few days.
- The scammer continues to call for months or even years after defrauding someone of their initial sum of money, trying to convince them that they just have to pay a bit more and that their earnings will arrive soon.
Precautions:
- Never click on pop-up messages saying that you’ve randomly been selected to win a prize.
- Research the name of the organization that is supposedly offering the prize.
- Never pay upfront for taxes or fees or give your personal banking information. Legitimate lotteries like Mega Million or Powerball will never require winners to pay any fees before collecting their prize.
- Some scammers may impersonate well-known organizations, such as Publishers Clearing House, that do in fact facilitate sweepstakes. Do not assume that a prize is real just based on the organization’s name. Find the contact information of the legitimate organization and call them.
3. Medicare Scams: Fear of Losing Benefits
Since all U.S. citizens over the age of 65 qualify for Medicare (a health insurance program provided by the federal government), scammers know that they can capitalize on this information to target older adults.
It’s common for imposters to pretend to be a Medicare representative. They may ask for personal information, such as one’s Social Security number, by falsely claiming that they need it to process the individual’s Medicare benefits. This information is then used to commit identity theft.
Such imposters could also ask to verify a person’s unique Medicare number in order to steal their health benefits. This is medical identity theft.
Never give your Social Security number out online, unless it is on an extremely trusted website, such as a mobile banking app or an online tax filing site. The same goes for one’s Medicare number — health portals are safe, but random people messaging you via email or social media are not.
4. Romance Scams: Matters of the Heart
Fraudsters often create fake profiles on social media or dating sites in order to establish emotional connections with older individuals, only to exploit them financially. Many use celebrity photos as their profile picture, create sophisticated background stories, and develop rapport with older adults. They might not ask for money right away. They’re in it for the long game. They take advantage of folks’ loneliness and the fact that one in three older adults feel isolated from others. Many victims are widows, housebound, or live alone or in nursing homes and crave human connection.
Potential Warning Signs:
- The relationship moves at an incredibly fast pace.
- They say they’re overseas but want to visit you. They just need money for a visa and travel expenses.
- They always promise to meet in person or via video call, but make up an excuse and have to cancel at the last minute each time.
- They or their (imaginary) loved ones frequently have medical emergencies or other urgent needs (such as car repairs after an accident, home repairs following a natural disaster, or crippling debt) and desperately could use your financial assistance.
Author’s note: When I was living in Sweden, I rented a room from a sweet 80-year-old man named Berndt. He had told me that he had a girlfriend in Ghana whom he had met in an online chat room. They had been dating for a few years and talked frequently on the phone, but never via video. (Her Wi-Fi wasn’t strong enough, she said.) She was in the process of moving to Sweden in order to be with him. However, she hadn’t been able to move yet because she was having major family troubles — her brother had been kidnapped, and then her uncle. She had to pay the ransom fees, which Berndt sent her the money via Western Union to do. He also paid for all her “visa” expenses. Overall, Berndt wiped out his entire life’s savings in order to continue sending this person money and eventually had to take out loans from the bank in order to survive because he had gone bankrupt. His children stopped talking to him because they called him crazy. When I used technology to identify the woman’s picture, I discovered that the photo was actually of a famous actress. It was a classic romance scam. People took advantage Berndt’s good nature and loneliness.
In summary, this type of fraud really does happen. In fact, in 2021 alone, older adults in the U.S. lost over $1.3 billion to sweetheart scams. Most victims over the age of 70 lost an average of $9,000.
5. Online Shopping Scams: Products That Don’t Arrive
Online shopping scams are the second-most reported type of fraud among elderly populations. In these scenarios, scammers accept shoppers’ payment information to steal the money from the transaction. In other words, that $29.99 someone paid will go directly into the scammer’s pocket rather than towards an actual purchase. Or, worse, the scammer may use the person’s bank information to steal further money.
Potential Warning Signs:
- The website’s prices are unrealistically low.
- The website doesn’t look professional. It may have a very simple design or spelling errors.
- You buy something online that never arrives.
Precautions:
- When looking at the name of a website, make sure that it says https:// in front of the website name instead of just http://. The “s” means secure.
- Look for a little lock symbol next to the name of the website. This also refers to security.
However, it should be noted that, due to the constant horror stories on the news related to online shopping scams, many older adults are actually afraid to shop online and have their money or personal information stolen.
Yet, online shopping is just like most other everyday activities on the internet: as long as you stay on safe, trusted websites (such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, major grocery stores, etc.), there is no need to be afraid.
6. Charity Scams: Pulling on Heartstrings
Charity scams attempt to exploit the generosity of individuals. They often emerge in the aftermath of natural disasters, during holiday seasons, or in response to high-profile global issues. Once you provide these scammers with money or your financial information, they disappear.
Possible Warning Signs:
- Emotional Appeals: Scammers use emotionally charged appeals, leveraging heart-wrenching stories or images to manipulate potential donors.
- Similar-Sounding Names: Fraudulent charities may adopt names similar to well-known and reputable organizations, making it challenging for donors to distinguish between the legitimate and the fake.
- Pressure Tactics: Scammers may use high-pressure tactics, such as claiming an urgent need for immediate donations; they need the money “right now.”
- Unsolicited Contact: Be cautious of unsolicited emails, phone calls, or social media messages requesting donations. Legitimate charities typically do not reach out in this manner.
Precautions:
- Google the supposed charity’s name with the keyword “fraud,” “scam,” or “complaint” to see if there are any mentions online of this charity being fraudulent.
- Use websites like Charity Navigator, CharityWatch, GuideStar, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance to see if a charity is legitimate.
7. Tax Information Scams: IRS Impersonation
Scammers sometimes pretend to be from government entities like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They may falsely claim that the victim has unpaid taxes that need to be paid immediately. Failure to do so, they say, will result in arrest or, when applicable, deportation.
Additionally, IRS imposters may contact elderly people (especially during tax season), claiming that there is an issue with their tax return. They’ll say that they need to collect personal information in order to secure their tax file mdash; but in reality they just want to commit identity theft.
Remember that government agencies like the IRS will never just randomly message anyone on social media or in a casual email.
8. Funeral Scams
In one type of common funeral scam, con artists will reach out to the loved ones of individuals who have died, claiming that the deceased person owed them money and demanding that their relative pay the funds immediately.
Alternatively, scammers sometimes send messages via social media, claiming that a friend of yours has died. In this case, there is often a link (supposedly to the person’s obituary) that, when clicked, launches a virus on the computer.
9. Virus Scams: “Protect” Your Computer NOW!
We’ve all received emails or pop-up messages claiming that our computer suddenly has a virus and that we need to “click here” or download some fake antivirus software. However, these messages are often traps set by cybercriminals.
Some claims will state that you need to immediately pay a large sum to protect your device from a virus. This is just a deceptive tactic to steal someone’s money.
Alternatively, you may be prompted to download a free “antivirus” program to prevent the imaginary virus from spreading, which can actually be what causes a REAL virus. This allows scammers to obtain any personal information stored on our computer, leading to potential identity theft or unauthorized access to our bank accounts.
Possible Warning Signs:
- Unsolicited pop-up messages claiming your computer is infected
- Emails with urgent warnings about viruses, especially if they ask you to click on a link or download software
Precautions:
- Safe Entertainment Downloads: Avoid downloading movies or shows from websites that are not trustworthy. If watching entertainment online is of interest, consider subscribing to legitimate streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, or Amazon Prime. Free (but equally safe) options can also be found via the free library’s website and on YouTube.
- Back Up Information: Regularly back up your important files to an external hard drive or a secure cloud service (such as Google Drive or iCloud) so that you don’t lose any important data even if you are hacked.
- Antivirus Software: Consider investing in real antivirus software and showing your loved one how to put it on their computer. They’ll then know to only trust alerts from this company. (Click here to learn about some free and affordable antivirus programs.)
- Skepticism: Be skeptical of unexpected messages or pop-ups regarding your computer’s security. Anything that says it’s urgent probably isn’t real.
10. Employment Opportunities: Too Good to Be True
Many ads run online and on social media claiming that you can “be your own boss” and make thousands of dollars each week after working only a few hours. For retired individuals with fixed incomes or some extra time on their hands, such opportunities could seem like an enticing way to stay active and earn some additional income.
However, many of these “get rich quick” schemes require folks to sign up for a program to learn more. Of course, most of these trainings are worthless.
11. Social Security Scams: Keep Your Benefits
Similar to the IRS or Medicare scams, an imposter online may claim to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They’ll say something along the lines of your social security number being suspended and require payment to reinstate it. Sometimes they may threaten legal action if you do not pay.
Alternatively, they may claim that there is some other urgent issue with your account and say that you need to provide personal information (such as banking information and social security number) in order to resolve the problem and keep your benefits.
Note that many of these imposters may use fake names or titles in order to sound more legitimate. Remember that the SSA will never reach out randomly to you online.
12. Phishing Email Scams: The Art of Deception
Phishing emails are typically from senders whose addresses make them appear as if they were from a well-known, reputable source.
Let’s say you get an email from the sender info@bankofamerica.org asking you to click a link to confirm your online banking username and password. It looks legitimate, right? However, the real Bank of America website is bankofamerica.com — it doesn’t end in “.org.”
Yet, if you’re not paying attention — or if you’re new to technology — it can be easy to fall into the trap.
With your banking username and password, the scammer could easily access your funds and steal your money. Additionally, clicking the link that they send could cause a virus to spread on your computer, allowing them to access more of your personal information.
Always ignore messages from unknown senders and confirm the website address of anything that looks somewhat legitimate but potentially suspicious.
13. False Investment Scams: Crypto on the Rise
Scammers sometimes attempt to lure older adults into investment opportunities that seem enticing, but are ultimately a setup for money to be stolen. Scammers may message individuals directly (such as on Facebook or Instagram) or advertise their opportunities online on various websites and social media platforms.
Warning Signs:
- The opportunity sounds too good to be true. There are supposedly high returns from little risk.
- Aggressive tactics are used to encourage you to sign up quickly without thinking through the idea.
- You realize that you cannot withdraw any of the money that you have invested.
Note that as technology continues to advance, new scams frequently arise. One common false investment at the moment involves cryptocurrency, which is like a digital form of money. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, folks lost over $1 billion in crypto scams from 2021 to mid-2022.
You may see things online like “I earn $10,000 a day by investing in crypto. You can too!” While investing in cryptocurrency is a legitimate way to earn money, it is best done through either a financial advisor or a trustworthy online platform, such as RobinHood, Coinbase, Cash App, or eToro, among others.
14. Tech Support Scams: A Call for Caution
Tech support scams typically involve a message (such as an email) or pop-up from someone claiming to be a representative from a reputable tech company, like Apple or Microsoft. The scammer informs the victim of a nonexistent issue with their computer and offers to fix it for a fee.
From here, you may be encouraged to call a phone number for further assistance. From there, the tech support person will likely offer instructions on how to give them remote access to your device so they can “fix” it (i.e., steal all of your personal and financial information).
Older adults lost over $238 million (download) in 2021 due to tech support scams.
15. Reverse Mortgage Scams: A Tale for Homeowners
Many older adults are homeowners, yet may be on a fixed income from their pensions, 401(k) plans, etc. In such circumstances, a little extra cash could never hurt.
Recently, the idea of reverse mortgages has grown in popularity. Most people’s houses increase in value over time, meaning that it worth more money now that at the time it was purchased. With a reverse mortgage, folks can ask the bank to give them some of that money in different ways — like a lump sum, regular payments, or a line of credit. They still get to live in their house, but now it’s helping them have more cash
It’s common to see targeted ads online advertising reverse mortgages, but many of these companies are not real. Scammers may charge an upfront fee and then never actually provide assistance in securing a reverse mortgage, or worse, they could try to steal part or all of the money received from the victim’s reverse mortgage once they have access to the information and accounts.
These are just a few examples of common scams that older adults may face when navigating the internet. Unfortunately, there are many other types of scams as well, and some may be more prevalent than others.
In part two of this internet safety series, we explore general tips for older adults to avoid scams online and what to do when someone falls victim.
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