Been two plus months with no comments…..will keep plugging away!
Just got back from visiting my parents again and helping them celebrate Mom’s 92nd birthday. I used to worry about my parents getting caught up in a financial scam- still do. But it recently dawned on me that I now fall into that “primary target category” for scammers.
Phone, email and internet scams. We’ve all received these attempts to gain our Social Security number, bank account information, and other personal identification information for conducting identity theft. There are also scams trying to get you to participate in fake investments or non-existent products. Hopefully you’ve not been victimized.
Senior citizens are a primary target due to their perceived reduced cognitive ability (see post # 34 and 38) and/or loneliness. I am no psychologist, but clearly there’s a very powerful vulnerability link between loneliness and trust which is easily exploited. Of course it’s not just senior citizens who are approached and victimized. Common scams include:
- Health Care/Medicare/Health Insurance Fraud.
- Counterfeit Prescription Drugs.
- Funeral & Cemetery offers.
- Fraudulent Anti-Aging Products.
- Telemarketing.
- Investment Schemes.
- Homeowner/Reverse Mortgage Scams.
- Dating….yes dating
https://www.comparitech.com/identity-theft-protection/senior-scam-statistics/
Regardless of the scheme, the objective is the same: deceive the individual to gain access to their financial resources. Granted there are many legitimate businesses in the above categories that make initial contact via phone or internet- that’s what makes the first step of gaining trust plausible.
A recent Economist Magazine issue highlighted how international gangs kidnap individuals (using tactics similar for enticing young people for sex trafficking) and force them to run cyber scams. Once these individuals are lured into a new “job” and arrive at the job’s guarded compound, often in a different country, they have no way to escape. Their new job consists of working illegal online gambling or scamming activities for criminals. The individuals are furnished with fake social media accounts, cell phones, a list of vulnerable people targets and information about their assets, relationships, and education. They are taught how to win over vulnerable people like pensioners and single parents by chatting with them daily. Once the victim’s trust has been gained, they’re urged to deposit into crypto-currency investment platforms controlled by the criminals. At first the victims are allowed to make small withdrawals from the platform. Once satisfied that the investment is legitimate, victims are encouraged to invest larger amounts until one day the scammer and the account disappear (The Economist, October 8, 2022).
Some global links addressing such scams:
https://www.globalantiscam.org/
I want to finish with a story that may give you an idea as to how powerful the psychological impact of these predators can be. About two years ago I read a journalist’s experience with his elder, widowed father. The journalist learned that his father had been contacted by an investment scheme and had established some sort of relationship with them. When the journalist did some research, he learned it was a scam, then called the number and told the scammer to stop calling his father. He also contacted authorities to try to shut down this operation, but learned there wasn’t much he or the authorities could do. At least the journalist felt better that he had warned off his father about the scam and his father would be better prepared the next time he was approached with such a situation. What he didn’t count on was his father continuing to reach out to the original scammer…perhaps to fulfill the loneliness void.
I’m not going to judge the father. Not until I’m in his shoes one day.