Scammers

[Saker_]

It’s even harder for older people (parents) for them to comprehend how scammers can pull off these scams.

Older people grew up and lived in an era that was void of these scams.

They still have analog brains, not digital ones.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Saker_

It’s even harder for older people (parents) for them to comprehend how scammers can pull off these scams.

Older people grew up and lived in an era that was void of these scams.

They still have analog brains, not digital ones.

Who do you define as "older?" I'm a couple months shy of 70 had have yet to not see right through these scams. My two favorites are the Nigerian email & the one where there's a legal action against you; I LOVE talking to them! They ask who I am and I tell them they should know as they called me! I engage phone scammers whenever I can and my asks me why I waste my time. I tell her because it amuses me! We learned growing up there's no free lunch and if it's too good to be true, it most likely is. As well as one gets what one pays for. Maybe a career working for the Feds has made me cynical anyway.

[Saker_]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Who do you define as "older?" I'm a couple months shy of 70 had have yet to not see right through these scams. My two favorites are the Nigerian email & the one where there's a legal action against you; I LOVE talking to them! They ask who I am and I tell them they should know as they called me! I engage phone scammers whenever I can and my asks me why I waste my time. I tell her because it amuses me! We learned growing up there's no free lunch and if it's too good to be true, it most likely is. As well as one gets what one pays for. Maybe a career working for the Feds has made me cynical anyway.

My father is 96 and get these calls all day long.
We encourage him don’t answer any questions about anything unless it’s his family members.
We also inform him that someone is never going to “give” him anything. They want info so they can try to take or rob his finances if they can.

I too engage scammers because it takes up their time.
I get a kick out of it because I will turn the tables on them at every opportunity.

Be vigilant and stay aware!

[BenFenner]

Originally Posted by Saker_

Older people grew up and lived in an era that was void of these scams.

TIL snake-oil salesmen are a very modern thing.

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

I engage phone scammers whenever I can

Annoyingly this is a bad idea. Sometimes they just want a recording of your voice saying "yes" or something else they can use against you with a 3rd party.
Even more recently they could just be using the recording of your voice to deepfake it, then turn around and make "you" say whatever they need you to say to another target. Bank employee maybe, or fellow loved one. Your voice could be telling your relatives you're in need of help/money/etc.

It's best not to engage. =/

Originally Posted by Saker_

My father is 96 and get these calls all day long.
We encourage him don’t answer any questions about anything unless it’s his family members.

Unfortunately this is outdated advice. Family members are easy to fake these days.

[Esteban]

I’m a senior and I don’t answer the phone unless I know the caller. If it’s important they’ll leave voicemail. I would give this advice to anyone, senior or not.

[JABCAT]

My uncle just got taken for $20k by some scammers that claimed to be from Chase Bank.

He's 83 and lives by himself (aunt passed a few years ago). Honestly not one I thought it would happen to as he's fully independent & quite savy.

We were actually visiting that weekend & my son likes to stay at his house & spend time with him when we visit. We came to grab my son & my uncle was on the phone with someone with his laptop open & his Chase account pulled up.

The person on the other line heard us say good morning & immediately said to my uncle "who is that? We can't continue this sensitive conversation about your account if others are present". Instant red flag to us.

My uncle shooed us out of the house, and my wife even went back in to try to get the phone but he moved her out of the house again. I tried calling my cousin (his son) who lives near by, but no answer.

I get a call from my cousin a couple weeks later, "hey you know that morning my dad was on the phone and you guys tried to find out who he was talking to. Well, they got him for $20k".

They pulled some scam where they "confirmed" his account number & made it look like someone had deposited $20,000. Then told him his account had been compromised. That he needed to go to his local branch & withdraw the $20k - tell them it's for a car purchase, and they would send a representative to pick up the fraudulent $20k so he wouldn't get in trouble for money laundering.

How he fell for it, I honestly don't know. He followed their instructions. He then had them pick the money up at his house! The only smart thing he did was snap a pic of the license plate of the car.

Of course they told him not to tell anyone, and that his new account would be set up in a couple days. They called back later & tried again, telling him is other accounts had been compromised, and tried to get $150k. I guess that's when it clicked for him.

The cops used the license plate to identify the people, but told him he basically has no recourse to get his $20k back.

Freakin dirtbags.

[TheGeekGuy]

Always tell them you'll call back, then call the number on the website or the credit card. If legit, they'll help you if not you've saved yourself a lot of grief.

[iBeam]

Nobody can fix stupid

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by iBeam

Nobody can fix stupid

This is true. However, these criminals are very good and very convincing, let's try not to blame the victim.

I read a story last year written by a financial journalist who was nearly taken by one of the scams. She got as far as withdrawing the money before she wized up. Imagine a senior, already paranoid, someone who's gone for 85 years learning to trust government agents and people of authority.

I tell my elderly mother to just hang up, or tell them to call me. Unfortunately I'm difficult to reach since I turn off the phone when I'm wearing my tin foil hat. That prevents the NSA from reading my mind. But that trick is probably worthy of its own thread.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by iBeam

Nobody can fix stupid

No, you can fix stupid (it's called learning).

Being a d'bag who would make a crack like this over a guy losing 20k is the one that really can't be fixed.

[M5Rick]

My phone warns of 'suspected scam' numbers, I've been getting a lot lately. Just-block-them as recommended by go ogle.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Maynard

No, you can fix stupid (it's called learning).

Being a d'bag who would make a crack like this over a guy losing 20k is the one that really can't be fixed.

It has nothing to do with being smart or stupid. The good scammers have & can gather a lot of information to make older people think it's legit.

My wife received a call from my grandfather asking if I was ok, and/or in jail because he had received a call about bailing me out. They had all my info, addresses, phone numbers, kids' names, etc.

Thankfully, my grandfather is a retired Chicago Police Officer & my 2nd cousin was the Sheriff of the county where they told my grandfather I was detained. He called my phone first, I didn't answer, called his nephew (the Sheriff) then called my wife to double-check.

Had he not been a retired LEO, and had a nephew who was a LEO in that jurisdiction, I can see how he might have been scammed to send bail money.

[JMW330]

WOW! That's crazy. You should have your devices professionally cleaned and consider freezing your credit.

[JMW330]

The amount of spam texts and Smishing I have been getting in the past year is insane.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by JMW330

WOW! That's crazy. You should have your devices professionally cleaned and consider freezing your credit.

Definitely this. Having a lock/block on your credit reports is like the modern version of locking your house and car. I'd recommend it for everybody.

[vreihen16]

From the latest weekly issue of the newspaper here in might-as-well-be Hooterville:




.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Definitely this. Having a lock/block on your credit reports is like the modern version of locking your house and car. I'd recommend it for everybody.

Agree, wife and I have had our credit frozen for several years now. Better safe than sorry.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by JMW330

WOW! That's crazy. You should have your devices professionally cleaned and consider freezing your credit.

We keep our credit frozen unless we're making a major purchase (vehicle). Unfortunately for me, some of my personal info is public & has to stay public - nothing I can do about it.

Just a couple days ago on Threads, I commented on someone's post - nothing personal about them, but they took it that way. 20 min later the guy had posted my name, employer & salary because he said I was being a dick on his post.

Someone else called him out for posting my info, and he removed it, but lots of stuff on people is easy to find sadly.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Esteban

I’m a senior and I don’t answer the phone unless I know the caller. If it’s important they’ll leave voicemail. I would give this advice to anyone, senior or not.

Originally Posted by JMW330

The amount of spam texts and Smishing I have been getting in the past year is insane.

To avoid being hit by ping calls, scam calls and spam calls, better refrain from answering calls from unknown numbers, do not call back missed calls from unfamiliar numbers (who do not leave a message) and do not respond to SMS, WhatsApp, Signal, etc. messages from unknown senders. These scam attempts are generally not targeted attacks (only a minority of attempts results from social engineering fraud). Fraudsters typically use randomly generated numbers, meaning that any number can be affected – scammers hope that at least someone takes the bait, not especially you. Numbers used for outgoing scam calls have not necessary been hacked or involved in a data breach.

Ping call or spam call (including unsolicited call center calls you dislike): consider blocking the number.

Texted distress message from a known person received via an unknown number: first call back the person via the number that you know (instead of the unknown number that sent the distress message).

Anything remotely suspicious/fishy (phishy): also involve someone you trust to discuss straightaway. Scammers don't like interference.