Unfortunately, scams and fraud are part of modern life we all have to navigate around. From email fishing scams to phony phone calls, nearly everyone has encountered someone trying to lie, cheat, and steal.
To make matters worse, scammers target the elderly more than any other group. It’s easy to fall into a trap and lose everything to these criminals. Knowledge, however, is power. Below are three of the top scams older Americans should look out for.
- Tech support or home repair scams – One of the most common scams, the criminal will contact the victim by phone, email, or text informing them that they need to arrange a significant repair or they will likely lose their computer, home, etc. The scammer will typically then ask for secure information like logins, passwords, and banking information.
- Relative phone scams – These scams are especially horrible. Imagine getting a phone call that your grandchild was in an accident and needs quick money to get the medical care they need to save their life. Criminals use false stories like these to take advantage of an elderly person’s caring nature so that they can steal their money.
- Government impersonation scams – It’s election time. You’ve probably gotten quite a few robocalls and maybe a call from an actual human once or twice, but beware, calls from government entities asking for personal information, are likely scammers impersonating officials.
These are only some of the kinds of fraud older Americans encounter regularly. Fox News recently shared a list of the top 12 scams targeting the elderly. Read the full list here.
It’s hard to live on a Social Security retirement even without getting scammed by criminals. A bill we call the Elder Relief Act could change this. Learn more here.