Where is cracking down on fraud against the elderly
On March 7, the FBI announced the results of a year-round effort to investigate and prosecute people who use technology from phones to social media for assaulting elderly people. In the past twelve months, more than 2 million Americans have been accused of defrauding nearly $ 700 million, most of them over the age of 55.
Attorney General William B. Barr noted that elderly victims are at greater risk and “Because of their lifetimes, they are less likely to recover, so these losses are dangerous for them.”
Even Barr himself and former FBI Director William Webster had clashed with scammers. Barr’s photographs were used to encourage people to apply for fake government grants, while Webster was told he had received the award. Phone and will need money to cover delivery of his winnings. Unfortunately for Webster’s scammer, he was too smart to agree and seize the opportunity to help thwart the Jamaican lottery scam.
The FBI press release also cites a romantic scam that infringes lonely seniors and a tech support scam as a means of getting money or personal information from a senior. A romantic scam targeting the elderly cost them more than $ 184 million last year. The tech support scam caused $ 26 million in losses and resulted in nearly 142,000 complaints to the Federal Trade Commission last year, most frequently filed by consumers over 70.
The United States enacted the Elderly Prevention and Prosecution Act in 2017 that proved useful in prosecuting and punishing people targeting the elderly, as well as hundreds of training and awareness sessions.
But not all old scams are high-tech, transnational organized crime continues to successfully use postal scams to collect hundreds of millions of dollars from elderly victims.
The Justice Department said it is now running a large-scale public awareness campaign in partnership with state and federal agencies to help people identify these plans before they become victims.
According to the National Seniors Council, some of the most common technology-related fraud schemes are phone scams, such as “dove drops” (in which the scammers pretend to be a lawyer or banker and tell the victim to split large amounts of money. If the victim makes a good faith payment through his or her bank account), a scam (where the fraudster tells the victim that someone knows he was involved in an accident and wants wire transfers), and a charitable scam. (Where money is raised for counterfeit charities, especially after a wide range of natural disasters)
Computers and smart devices can be a problem for older adults, especially if they are unfamiliar with firewalls and antivirus methods. Scams, such as pop-up ads that trick downloads, scanning software, and email / phishing programs that ask for updates or scams to give adversaries access to their personal information.
Computers and smart devices can be a problem for older adults, especially if they are unfamiliar with firewalls and antivirus methods. Scams, such as pop-up ads that trick downloads, scanning software, and email / phishing programs that need to be updated or reviewed in order to allow adversaries to access their personal information.
The FBI warns that seniors set particularly good goals because they are more likely to have good savings and credit, are less likely to know how to report cheats, and sometimes experience memory problems that cause them to be. Weak after facts and slower Realizing this, they are victims, which makes it more difficult to apprehend the perpetrator.
Every year, millions of older Americans fall victim to financial fraud or trust schemes, including romance letters, sweepstakes and sweepstakes to name a few. Criminals can gain the target’s trust and may communicate with them directly through computers, phones and mail. Or indirectly through television and radio. Once this is successful, fraudsters are more likely to continue their projects due to the potential for significant financial gains.
Older people are often the target because they are often confident and polite. They tend to have homeowner savings and good credit, all of which make them attractive to scammers.
Additionally, older adults may be less likely to report fraud because they don’t know how to do it, or they may be too ashamed to be scammed. They may also be concerned that their relatives will lose confidence in their ability to manage their finances. When an elderly victim reports a crime, he may not be able to provide the investigator with detailed information.
With an aging population growing and older people losing more than $ 3 billion a year, old form of fraud is likely to be a growing problem.
Common fraud schemes for seniors
Romantic Scams: Criminals pretend to be interested romantic partners on social media or dating sites to take advantage of the desires of elderly victims looking for a partner.
Tech Support Scam: Criminals pretend to provide tech support and offer to troubleshoot their computers they don’t exist. Scammers can remotely access their victim’s devices and sensitive information.
Grandparents Fraud: Criminals pretend to be a relative – usually a child or grandson – immediately pretending to need money.
Impersonation Scams: Criminals impersonate government employees and threaten to arrest or prosecute their victims unless they agree to provide money or other payments.
Lottery / Charity / Lottery scam: Criminals claim to work for a legitimate charity to gain the trust of their victims. Or they claim that their goals win the lottery or international lottery, which they can collect. “Fee”.
Home Repair Scams: Criminals show up themselves and accuse homeowners of home improvement services they never provide.
TV / Radio Fraud: Criminals target potential victims by using illegal ads on legitimate services such as reverse mortgage or credit repairs.
Family / Carer Fraud: Exploited by elderly victim’s relatives or acquaintances or getting their money.
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