How to make yourself bulletproof from scams
Are seniors “easy marks” or are they just targeted more than other consumers for fraud and scams?
The answer is yes and yes.
Communications and banking move money around the world at lightning speed these days. Instead of dealing with local and regional crooks who would separate you from your money, we now must contend with crooks, fraudsters and scammers from around the world. Instead of a few hundred or even thousand targeting each consumer, the number has exploded exponentially.
I was born in 1950. For all of us, it’s a whole new world. For seniors it’s hard to imagine how much things have changed.
I consider myself fairly tech-savvy. On the other hand, I remember not too long ago waiting until after 7 p.m. to get the best rates for a long distance phone call; postal zones instead of ZIP codes; and the first totally nude issue of Playboy (I only read the articles!).
Things have changed.
You are targeted like you’ve never been before! As of March 2017, it is estimated that just under 4 billion people in the world have access to the internet. If only 1 percent of those with access are involved in using the internet to scam consumers, that makes 40 million crooks potentially targeting you. That’s a lot!
Today, with the push of a button, a scammer in an out-of-the-way country can instantly send out millions of emails. If one in a half-million consumers falls for the ruse, the scammer can drain a checking account or retirement account in a split second. With the press of a single button on a computer keyboard somewhere overseas, they can make the better part of a million dollars, and then simply disappear.
Dorothy, we’re definitely NOT in Kansas anymore!
In a way, it almost makes a person want to sit home in a corner in a fetal position with the doors locked and the lights out, afraid to open or send an email and certainly in fear of answering the phone.
Now here’s the GOOD news: It’s easy to protect yourself and your loved ones from the scammers. Follow these rules:
- If it sounds too good to be true — IT IS! Don’t fall for it.
- If you’re being offered a “grant” or sweepstakes winnings or government money — it’s a scam. Don’t do it.
- If you’re required or pressured to hurry up and make a decision — don’t do it. It’s a scam. Good deals today are also good deals tomorrow — after you’ve checked them out.
- If someone calls you and threatens you with arrest or a warrant — it’s a scam.
- Don’t EVER buy gift cards or prepaid cash cards and send them to anyone for payment of anything.
- Don’t EVER give your credit card information to anyone who calls you. Not even if they suggest you call them back. Telephone numbers are easy, cheap and quick to buy online. You can pick any area code you want!
- Before making a decision about paying for anything resulting from an email or a phone call, get in touch with friends or relatives to discuss the matter. You can also call or email me.
- Always use a credit card to pay for remote purchases of goods or services. Don’t use a checking account number and information, or a debit card. Federal Trade Commission protections apply only to credit cards.
- Above all — talk to each other. Together we can be a “hard target” for the crooks.
If you follow the above rules you’ll avoid 99.99 percent of the scams out there.
Also if you’ve fallen victim to a crook, con artist or scammer, let friends and family know. Don’t be embarrassed. Trusting, honest people are the easiest to take advantage of. If you’ve got a story others could learn from, call me. No names, I promise. Think of the good you could do and the pain, loss and embarrassment you can save someone.
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QUICK STORY: A hearing-aid salesman victimized an 85-year-old lady in Illinois with nerve-damage hearing loss. He promised that if she purchased the $5,000 pair of hearing aids, she would be able to hear again. He further promised that if she wasn’t satisfied, there was a 100 percent money-back guarantee. She didn’t tell her 60-year-old son about the purchase, because her son had already told her there was nothing that could be done to restore her hearing.
The lady got her hearing aids and of course they didn’t work. She contacted the hearing aid salesman concerning the “guarantee” and was ignored.
Her son came to me a few years later when his mom finally and tearfully told him what had happened. I contacted the salesman and he told me to “mind your own business.”
A couple of weeks later I had the honor of hosting a luncheon for the Illinois attorney general. I asked him to show up a few minutes early for the lunch and wait in my conference room. I then invited the hearing-aid salesman to meet me in my office for a friendly “chat” about hearing aids. The stage was set.
Once the attorney general was in place, I escorted the salesman in to meet with the chief law enforcement official in Illinois. Once I made the intro, without any explanation, the salesman whipped out his checkbook and refunded all the money paid by the victim.
LESSON: Talk with friends and relatives and don’t be embarrassed about what happened. This lady suffered unnecessarily for the better part of three years because she was ashamed. She almost lost $5,000!
Thanks to the Coeur d'Alene Press for providing all of us a place to communicate.
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The blog is up and running. “No Solicitation” high quality window stickers are now available. If you’d like to take a look, go to www.cdapressconsumerguy.com.
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I have many more interesting cases that I’m working on as The CDA Press Consumer Guy. Call me at (208) 449-7222, email me at CDAPressConsumerGuy
@gmail.com or fax me at (866) 362-9266. Also include your full name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and to local and civic groups.
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Bill Brooks is the CDA Press Consumer Guy. He is an active Associate Real Estate Broker for Tomlinson-Sotheby’s International Realty in Coeur d’Alene.