It seems with the dawn of the smartphone, there has been a growing threat sweeping the nation: phone scams. These fake calls are initiated to disrupt the day and separate unknowing victims from their money. Conversely, these scams are often targeted at the elderly.
By spreading awareness, you can protect your loved one from these potential scammers.The following are four common phone scams that target your aging loved one.
- Fake Grandchild
This is one of the more nefarious scams. It often begins with a spoken “grandma” or “grandpa” from an individual pretending to claim the identity of a grandchild. Using data found from social media and the internet, the scammer can grab at different identity points to validate their ruse. They will let it slip that the ‘grandchild’ is not doing well financially and ask the grandparent for help in the form of money.
- Family Member in Jeopardy
It should be noted that the above is the most used for seniors, as a beloved grandchild often hits the pathos of the scam. Yet, it is just one of the many variations of the ‘family in jeopardy’ scam. This could be a person pretending to be a police officer calling and asking for bail money for a relative. Or it could be an individual claiming that a loved one is being held for ransom in a foreign country.
One of the best ways to debunk this scam is simply to reach out to the family member in jeopardy or other family members that would know their whereabouts. Through doing this, you can often confirm that the jeopardy is all a ruse and the individual is fine.
- IRS Scam
This scam uses the authority of the IRS to state that the individual is going to be imprisoned if they don’t pay owed taxes. This is a ruse, as the IRS often never uses phones to communicate. If they were to call, they would not adopt the tenor of loan sharks. They are bureaucrats who, if you owe money, will request so by mail in an orderly time frame.
- Car Warranty Scam
We’ve all gotten the call that our car’s warranty is expiring. Often the individual will not say the details of the car that is expiring, nor will they say where the warranty is from. This lack of specific intel tends to give the nature of the scam away.
If you worry about your senior loved one falling for a scam, contact a home health aide from Expicare Nursing today.