Many scammers believe that they can more easily trick older people, or that older people have the time to listen and be some are more opportunistic and realise that retired people are more likely to be at home during the day when scammers call.
The Most Common Scams Targeting the Elderly
- Health insurance scams – scammers offer unrealistically cheap insurance cover but really they just want your money and personal details – there is no insurance.
- Fake prescription drugs – it’s very dangerous to buy prescription drugs from a non accredited source as you can not be sure what you get will be safe and contain the genuine medicine.
3.Funerals —fraudsters use obituaries to find out information about the deceased, then attempt to extort money from family members or grieving spouses, by falsely claiming for debts.
4.Anti-aging products — scammers offer various products which either don’t exist or are worthless.
5.Investments — pension release schemes, Ponzi schemes, guaranteed winners on the stock market etc. However good a scheme sounds, always check with an independent reputable expert.
- Homeowner/reverse mortgage scams – it is quite common for people who have paid off their mortgage and would like some cash to take out a new mortgage and the scammers offer an assortment of fake mortgages.
- Lotteries —This is generally invitation to join a wonderful lottery, but the tickets are fake so you have no chance of winning.
- The grandparent scam —this is a very nasty one as it frightens people. The scammer calls and pretends to be a grandchild. They wait for the victim to use the grand child’s name then claim to be that person but with urgent financial problems. The scammers asks for payment by transfer through Moneygram or Western Union usually as these payments cannot be traced or reversed.
- Charity Scams – scammers setup fake charities to take advantage of people’s generosity.
Trust your instincts. If you feel at all wary or suspicious, you’re probably right!
“Sixty and Me” have created a detailed list of the common scams targeting elderly and how to avoid them.
Got to https://sixtyandme.com/seniors-scams/
If you have any experiences with phishing scams do let me know, by email.
