The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
August is typically the month for back-to-school preparations. With many schools starting in mere weeks, families are busy shopping for supplies and enjoying the final days of summer vacation. Some are even readying their high school and college seniors for the last hurrah. But what about the other seniors in your life? Take a few minutes to think about how you can keep the senior citizens in your life safe from scams and fraud.
There are a lot of reasons Internet scammers and identity thieves target senior citizens, with factors ranging from their sense of trust in others, to income availability, to concerns for personal safety. And while scammers may be counting on older adults’ fears of looking like they can’t take care of themselves — and therefore not reporting that they’ve been victimized — the sad reality is that Internet scammers can go after anyone.
This list includes only a few of the red flags that seniors should keep in mind when it comes to avoiding scams:
The ability to wire money is a vital economic tool, but it’s also a dead giveaway of a scam since thieves know it is hard to trace the money. Whether it’s the age-old “grandchild has been arrested in a foreign country” scam or a threat of bill collections, alleged fines that are owed, or a missed credit card payment, if you are ever asked to wire money or use a prepaid credit card to make a payment, STOP. Whatever you do, don’t just fall for it and wire the money without verifying the cause.
Anyone who asks for a Social Security number, especially over the phone or online, should make you think twice. Only in recent years have we really started to raise awareness about keeping your SSN secure, so scammers know that a senior citizen is more likely to give it out than a younger consumer. If anyone ever contacts you by phone and asks for your SSN, hang up immediately and contact the company directly. Your SSN can be used to open new accounts in your name and commit identity fraud that you may not become aware of until you check your credit. (Editor’s Note: You can check two of your credit scores for free every month on Credit.com.)
Some of today’s senior adults are relatively new to computers, smartphones, social media, email and other handy tech tools. Unfortunately, that just means it’s easier than ever for scammers to reach out to senior citizens with what’s known as “phishing” emails. These emails can take on many forms, but they have something in common: They want you to click a link in the email and be redirected. They might be promising cheap pharmaceuticals or a medical benefits card, two major areas of concern for older adults. The link most likely contains harmful viruses that will install themselves on the computer to steal information or log keystrokes. Never click on a link in an email that you don’t have reason to trust. Go directly to the website yourself and then handle the issue there if you think it might be real.
New scams are created every day, so these are just a few of the red flags. Prevention is the best course of action, and that can happen when seniors educate themselves about the latest threats. Groups like the Identity Theft Resource Center, AARP, the Veterans Administration, and the Better Business Bureau (just to name a few) have online and phone resources in place to keep consumers up-to-date on these types of scams.
Image: iStock
October 19, 2023
Identity Theft and Scams
May 17, 2022
Identity Theft and Scams
May 20, 2021
Identity Theft and Scams