Millions of the senior citizens fall for online swindles each year according to some reports, over thirty six billion dollars is lost every year to online con artists.
Senior citizens represent a unique demographic that is both trustful and compassionate. The scammers are aware of theses characteristics and they are trying to exploit them.
The marketplace has become very complex and most senior citizens don’t have the sufficient time to keep up with the latest technology coming out of Silicon Valley every other day.
Due to this, they are more likely to miss important things like latest security upgrades or the latest technology trends and even new fraud schemes. This makes them susceptible to these frauds and scams.
In this article, we will discuss several factors about online scams targeting senior citizens. We will also look at the best way you can avoid these scams and the best way to protect yourself from them.
Types of Online Scams
Relationship Scams
This is one of easiest scams con artist carry out successfully. A person will get your contacts online and profess their undying love for you.
Most senior citizens are lonely hence, the company and a chance to be loved again is usually very tempting. The relationship may involve meeting in person or never at all. After a while, the ‘lover’ will start asking for money to solve a few personal problems. Before you know it, the ‘lover’ will swindle money from the senior citizen for non-existent bills.
Charity scams
A con artist will contact you pretending to be from a charity organization soliciting for funds. The senior citizens thinking that they are assisting in a noble course will wire money to a phony account only to realize the charity organization does not exist.
Non-existent Credit Card Offers
Credit card fraud remains the most prevalent form of online fraud. You may have been smarter in your youthful years but as you age. Your money handling capacity falls.
A report done by Brookings Institution found that the peak age for adults when it comes to money handling averaged 53 years.
After that, you are on a download spiral. Credit card fraudsters are tech-savvy and smart lot. For this reason, it can be a challenge to keep up if you are a senior citizen. Unless you were an IT expert during your productive days, you are an easy prey.
Usually, the scam comes in form of an offer too good to ignore such as credit card advancement with very high approved limit. The catch is that you have to pay an advancement fee. This is the scam. Other times, you will be required to give out your personal information.
Email Phishing
According to the FTC, the main example of phishing occurs when a senior citizen receives an email in form of an advert or services from a reputable company. The email will ask you to download something or may atomically download a malware when opened.
The malware can access your computer remotely and search through personal information like tax returns, bank accounts and social security number.
Online Vacation Scams
After working for many years, most senior citizens look forward to enjoying their retirement by vacationing. Internet con artists are aware of this and use free vacation offers to lure senior citizens into conning traps.
The good deal turns out to be a non-existent vacationing property or not the standard you expected. In extreme circumstances, a senior citizen pays an amount for a chance to win the vacation.
Better Business Bureau is an organization that gives tips on how to avoid this specific type of online scam.
Lottery and Winning Scams
When you see a large beaming advert pop up on your screen claiming you have won some prize as a random winner, that is a scam. Other websites will promise a prize if you help them hit certain goals.
The main aim of these emails is usually to get your personal information. They may even email you a check and ask you to fill in your credit card number or bank account to claim your prize.
These are just some of the main online scams that a large number of senior citizens have fallen victim. There are more and you should make a point of doing more research.
How Senior Citizens Can Protect Themselves From Internet Scams
Senior citizens don’t need to be frequent victims of online scams.
In her book “Ageing Dangerously”, senior citizens’ rights activist and Lawyer Marie-Therese Connolly discusses the dangers senior citizens face in regards to the financial con scams and how they can go about the situation.
In 2017, a federal law Elder Abuse Prevention and Protection Act was enacted.
Elder Justice Coordinators appointed by the Justice Department deal specifically with prevention and assisting senior victims of various forms of abuse.
According to True Link Financial Study, over 950,000 elderly citizens are victims of internet fraud every year. Another estimated that over thirty billion dollars is lost to these scams.
Tips To Protect You From Online Scams:
- Do not share any sensitive personal information online. Ensure that the website you submit sensitive information like credit card numbers is trustworthy and legit.
- Not everyone who knows a few things about you is trustworthy. Just because someone knows where you stay and your full name, does not mean you have to trust him or her. Carry out due diligence and where there are doubts seek help from authorities.
- Avoid opening emails from unknown sources, especially if they have attachments
- Before donating to charities, confirm if they are legit.
- If you meet a stranger online, let him or her remain a stranger. If it is about social networking do it without involving any financial aspect.
- When using your computer do not click on pop up adverts. Cyber security experts do not show up on your screen; it is you to go for their services.
- Set up your computer to install security updatesautomatically so that when someone tells you need an upgrade, you know it is a fraud.
Why Do Online Scams Happen To Senior Citizens?
According to their official website, 60% of people who call the National Fraud Information Center are senior citizens. The department of Homeland security further adds that, senior citizen are two times more likely to be defrauded as compared to the rest of the population.
Why Are Senior Citizens More Likely To Be Victims Of Internet Fraud?
They save a lot In recent online survey by consumer insights in America, it was reported that households headed by citizens 60 years or older, save up to 70% of their income.
Fraudsters therefore know that senior citizens are more likely to have cash lying around somewhere. This is why seniors become targets most of the time
- They use the internet frequently
A research done by the Pew Research center showed that over 50% of senior citizens use the internet. That was a few years ago and the numbers are steadily rising.
Scammers are also aware of the fact that seniors spend more time online during the day than any other demographics. This makes them a target since they also tend to be online when most scammers are active.
- They are least likely to report the crime
When a senior citizen is scammed, he or she is less likely to report the crime to authorities. This is due to a combination of factors. Most senior citizens do not know where to report fraud cases and how to handle these situations.
They may also feel embarrassed. For this reason, many scammers go unpunished hence they are more likely to scam other people.
- They easily trust strangers
According to the FBI, the senior generation trust strangers easily. This can be attributed to the community environment they grew up in where you knew everyone in the town. Most of the time they believe that the scammers are their neighbors or someone close who is more likely to help them than steal from them.
How Senior Citizens Can Avoid Being Scam Victims?
They are several ways senior citizens can avoid being scammed. Online scams are getting complicated by day. The con artists are becoming smarter and using sophisticated methods.
- Firstly, before making any purchases online consult a caregiver or trusted family members. They will know if the product is genuine or if it is just a scam.
- Never give out any personal information unless you are sure it is to trusted people like your doctor or legit companies you have dealt with before.
- When making purchases or payments use your credit card. This way, you can dispute the payment when you discover it is a scam and have the money refunded.
- Avoid deals that pop up on your computer when you are online. According to the Consumer Insight, you are more likely to get scammed during impulse buying.
- When someone contacts you about having won a lottery you have never participated in, ignore the message. The odds of you winning a lottery are 1 in 175 million. Before you get too excited think about that.
- When someone contacts you about a relative being in trouble, confirm with other family members or close friends.
- Make a point of reporting any suspected fraud cases. You are better of safe than sorry. Report any suspicious cases to relevant authorities like the Federal Trade center or the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- When using your computer all your software upgrades should come from the company itself and not from a browser pop up window. Set your computer to carry out the upgrades automatically.
- Do not accept any approach from Computer Tech support over the internet. In case of any tech issues, call the company. They will send someone over or advice you on what to do.
Damage Caused By Internet Scams
The statistics behind internet scams are scary and mind boggling. The general public loses up to 36 billion dollars yearly. Most of this comes from personal saving accounts and phony credit card payments.
Another survey by Home Instead revealed that up to three quarters of senior citizens have been victims of online scam at some point in their lives.
These are not just numbers. The effects run deeper than the financial implications involved. People have lost their homes and properties to internet scams. Most of these cases are rarely reported so these estimates may be on the lower level.
Additionally, it is hard to quantify the emotional and psychological effects. The American Psychology Association has reported that a number of senior citizens may have been led to early graves due to stress after losing entire savings to con artist.
The implications may run farther than earlier estimated. Of late, the focus has been on the effects on future generations like the children and grandchildren. When a senior citizen becomes a victim of online scams, the responsibility falls on the caregivers and immediate families to find the culprit or recover the money.
In cases where entire savings are drained, it will up to the immediate family to take care or them.
Lastly, online scams cost the government dearly. The government invests billions of dollars in trying to find the culprits and prosecute them. Resources have been allocated to support the senior citizens and to inform them on how to avoid being victims of online scams.
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Written By: Lucy Baines