Anyone can fall victim to a scam, but scammers are making new efforts to target seniors.
There are several reasons why seniors can be vulnerable:
Many older adults own their homes, have retirement accounts, Social Security income and years of other savings that scammers can target. The Federal Trade Commission reported that while people ages 20 to 59 report being scammed and losing money more often, older adults tend to lose more money when they are scammed. According to the FBI, the older you are, the higher the average loss when a scammer hits.
Plus, older adults are statistically more likely to answer the phone for an unknown number than younger people, especially those who may be lonely and more willing to engage with strangers.
Other reasons:
- Studies have also shown that seniors tend to be more trusting of things that look or sound official, including fake communications from banks, government agencies, doctors and insurance companies.
- Seniors who may be in the early stages of cognitive decline may also get confused easily, particularly when it comes to numbers.
- Unlike younger people who grew up with technology, seniors also may be less familiar with newer technologies like payment apps, cryptocurrency and phishing techniques.
Put all of those things together and some seniors can be easy and lucrative targets for smart scammers!
The Most Common Scams
Some of the most common scams targeting seniors include those surrounding Social Security checks, medical insurance, investment opportunities and scams telling them "your money isn't safe."
But there are newer scams, too, thanks to new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. For example, AI can now generate voices over the phone that sound remarkably real and can even impersonate a family member in tone and speech patterns. So when a senior's child or grandchild "calls" asking for money, they can be tricked.
Key Phrases to Remember
Here are some tips to help protect seniors and their savings:
The most important thing for seniors to know is that scammers will often tell them to "act quickly" or "immediately," and "don't tell anyone" what's happening. Those phrases are designed to scare them into action, but what seniors should do is hang up and call a relative, their bank, the police, or the government agency allegedly involved to independently verify information before doing anything else.
As a family member, you can write out those phrases and this information and keep it somewhere handy for seniors in your family to reference:
- If the person on the phone asks for payment in a gift card, cryptocurrency, a wire transfer, a large amount of cash or gold, stop and hang up!
- Don't give anyone a password, security phrase or PIN over the phone if they call.
- If a loved one says they need money and it's an emergency, put them on hold and call another relative to verify the information.
- If a senior is threatened with arrest over the phone, they should hang up and call the police to verify the information.
In addition, during your Sunday phone calls, children should ask their elderly parents if they received any strange text messages or calls recently. You may be able to prevent a scam from going too far or educate them about what's really happening.
We're here for you, and your parents, for life. We hope your family and savings stay safe, always, and we're happy to help identify scams. Don't hesitate to reach out with questions!