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Retirement Savings Scams

Older Americans are increasingly being caught up in elaborate scams designed by perpetrators to drain them of their retirement savings, with the detail and scale of such scams sometimes requiring the intervention of federal law enforcement. Subjects of interviews were ensnared in scams that could be so elaborate it’s as if they were created in a writer’s room testing different plot devices. Scammers can impersonate government officials, tech support staff or love interests. They coach victims on how to sidestep fraud prevention measures at financial institutions, and they use manipulative psychological tactics — isolation, a sense of urgency or preying on people’s willingness to trust or connect — to keep the scam going.

Retirees have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement savings due to the persistent efforts of these bad actors. A gentleman lost this money over a period of only three months, spending just about every weekday doing the legwork and making withdrawals from his bank accounts as part of an intricate scam. He believed he was helping the feds safeguard his money and catch thieves who were after it. Such scammers are present in a variety of online areas, including dating websites, social media platforms, messaging apps and through the use of invasive, malicious software — just to name a few. The nature of these schemes makes it nearly impossible to recover the money, leaving victims with little recourse. The stolen funds are often whisked to overseas accounts or laundered through cryptocurrency wallets, which are quickly emptied. The losses are sometimes exacerbated by taxes. Withdrawals from retirement accounts — especially in such large amounts — can often come with a heavy tax bill that the victims have few resources to cover after being scammed.

Jury Duty Scam


Here’s what happens…

A person comes into the bank to withdraw $10,000 for a fraudulent scheme supposedly to pay a bondsman on a fraudulent arrest warrant for missing jury duty. The caller poses as a Sergeant in the Sheriff’s dept instructing the customer to pay the bond or turn himself into the local police station. The fraudsters will often send pictures of an arrest warrant, which looked very official, with instructions to make payment to a bitcoin kiosk.

What we can do….

We can call the Sheriff’s department to verify that they do not call or issue arrest warrants for missing jury duty. We can then provide the details of the scam to a Deputy Sheriff, so they can stay aware of these ongoing incidents.

Gift Card Scams

Did someone tell you to buy a gift card and give them the PIN numbers to:
– pay the FTC, FBl, or IRS
– keep your Social Security benefits
– keep your utilities on (electricity, water, or heat)
– pay for tech support
– help a family member in trouble
– help a servicemember needing money
– pay bail or ransom
– avoid arrest or deportation
– fix any problem, for any reason?

lf you answered yes, HANG UP. lt’s a scam.
– Report gift card scams to the gift card company.
– Ask for your money back.
– Then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Contact the gift card company:
Amazon – 888-280-4331
Apple iTunes – 8OO-275-2273
Ebay – ebay.com/giftcardscams
Steam – help.steampowered.com
Target – 800-544-2943
Walmart – 888-537-5503

IRS Scams

An IRS scam is when someone contacts you pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service (lRS). They falsely say that you owe taxes and must pay them immediately or face serious penalties. Test your knowledge to protect yourself and loved ones.

Here’s a list of common tactics used by scammers.

– Yell at or insult you.
– Threaten to deport, arrest, or jail you.
– Send you a bill through the U.S. Postal Service first to let you know you owe taxes.
– Ask for tax payment by email, text message, or through social media.
– Offer you an opportunity to question or appeal the amount of taxes you owe.
– Request tax payment by gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or wire transfer.
– lnstruct you to make payments to the United States Treasury.

Now you know that the IRS will NEVER:
– Call to demand immediate payment by u prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.
– Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested or deported for not paying.
– Demand payment without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
– Contact taxpayers by email, text message, or through social media to request personal or financial information such as PlNs or, passwords credit card, bank or other accounts.

Report it!
– lf you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
– Report possible IRS scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 and to FTC.gov/comptaint.
– lf you get an email from someone claiming to be from the lRS, don’t open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. lnstead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

Job Scams

Scammers might promise you a job, lots of money, or work you can do at home. But they make you pay them before they help you. lf you pay them, you will lose your money and will not get a job.

How do I spot a job scam?

Look for these signs of a scam. Scammers might:
– promise you a job
– promise you a governmentjob
– offer you the secret to getting a job
– promise that you will make lots of money by working at home
– offer you a certificate to improve your chances of getting a job

Scammers always will ask you to pay first. That is the biggest sign of any scam. Never pay in advance. Someone might say you cannot lose. lt is not true. You will lose money.

How can I avoid a job scam?

– Never deal with anyone who promises you a job. No one can promise you a job,
– Do not pay in advance for information about a job. Even if there is a money-back guarantee
– Do not deal with anyone who says you have to act fast.
– lgnore promises to make thousands of dollars working in your own home. Those promises are lies.

What if I already paid someone but I did not get anything?

lf you sent money and did not get help finding a job, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
– Call the FTC at 1-A77-3A2-4357
– Go online: ReportFraud.ftc.gov

Grandkid Scams

Here’s how they work:

You get a call: “Grandma, I need money for bail.” Or money for a medical bill Or some other kind of trouble. The caller says it’s urgent – and tells you to keep it a secret.

But is the caller who you think it is? Scammers are good at pretending to be someone they’re not. They can be convincing: sometimes using information from social networking sites, or hacking into your loved one’s email account, to make it seem more real. And they’ll pressure you to send money before you have time to think.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Stop. Check it out. Look up your grandkid’s phone number yoursell or call another family member.

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You may not have gotten one of these calls, but chances are you know someone who will get one – if they haven’t already.

Romance Scams

Here’s how they work:

Someone contacts you on social media – and they’re interested in getting to know you. Or maybe you meet someone special on a dating website or mobile app. Soon the person wants to write to you directly or start talking on the phone. They say it’s true love, but they live far away – maybe because of work, or because they’re in the military.

Then they start asking for money. Maybe it’s for a plane ticket to visit you. Or emergency surgery. Or something else urgent.

Scammers of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations make fake profiles, sometimes using photos of other people – even stolen pictures of real military personnel. They build relationships – some even pretend to plan weddings – before they disappear with your money.

Here’s what to do:

1. Stop. Don’t send money. Never send cash, or send money using gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or a payment app to an online love interest. Once you pay this way, it’s hard to get your money back.

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You may not have gotten tangled up with a romance scam, but chances are, you know someone who will – if they haven’t already.

Tech Support Scams

Here’s how they work:

You get a call or message from someone who says they’re a computer technician. Or a number appears in a pop-up message on your screen. Or maybe you’re looking for tech suppoft and call a number you find in a search engine. The person on the phone says they’re from a well-known company like Microsoft or Apple. And they tell you about viruses or other malware on your computer. Maybe they’ll ask you for remote access to your computer or say you must buy new software to fix it. But are they someone you can trust? Judging by reports to the Federal Trade Commission, no. Tech support scammers will try to sell you useless services, steal your credit card number, or get access to your computer to install malware, which could then let them see everything on your computer (including your account passwords).

Here’s what to do:

1. Hang up. lf you get an unexpected call from someone saying there’s a problem with a computer – hang up, it’s a scam. lf you need tech help, go to someone you know and trust – and call them at a phone number you know to be true (the ones that show up in your search engine aren’t always legit).

2. Pass this information on to a friend. You might know these are scammers, but chances are, you know someone who doesn’t.

Sending Money Overseas Scams

You want to send money to someone in another country. Sometimes, this is called wiring
money. Wiring money is just like sending cash.

Before You Wire Money:
A business that wires money for you charges a fee to send that money. Before you pay to send money, ask the business these questions:
– How much money will my family or friend get?
– Will my family or friend get money in US dollars, or in local money?

Write this information down. Visit a few businesses that wire money overseas. Compare the cost of one money wiring business to another. Each business might charge a different price. lf the business will not answer these questions, think about going to another business.

When you choose the money wiring business you will use, make sure the cost is the same as the business told you. After you send the money, keep your receipt. You will need it if something goes wrong.

After You Wire Money:
Find out if your family or friend got the money you sent. Find out if they got the right amount. lf they did not get the amount you sent, report it right away:
– First, report it to the money wiring business.
– Then, if the business does not solve the problem, report it to the Federal Trade
Commission. Call 1-877-382-4357, or go to ftc’sov/complaint’

Texting Scams

How To Recognize Fraudulent Texts And Protect Yourself:

Think back on the number of times your bank has sent you unsolicited texts in the past year. Hold that number in your head. Now, if your bank sent you an unexpected text today, asking if you wired $7,500 to someone, would you consider that business as usual? Probably not. Unfortunately, bank impersonators are increasingly becoming more common. Fraudulent bank text messages are on the rise, representing the most common type of text messaging scams now reported to the Federal Trade Commission. And these scams are getting very sophisticated. In 2022, American consumers lost more than $330 million to these “smishing” attacks – a mash-up of SMS and phishing. In the same year, 76% of all organizations experienced smishing cybercrimes, IBM reports. Fortunately, you are equipped to stay two steps ahead of fraudsters. Here’s how to smish-proof yourself.

If you receive a text alleging to be your financial institution, do not click on any of the links and do not respond. You should “report junk” on an iPhone or “report spam” on an Android phone. Block the contact from messaging you again, and then call your bank directly.

 

6 Tell-Tale Ways To Spot A Text Scammer:

If you receive a random text from your bank that includes an urgent request, information about a new product, and/or an embedded link, do not consider it business as usual. Consider it a potential scam.

Here are six fast ways to tell when a “bank” text doesn’t pass the smish test:

You don’t recognize the number, kinda. If the number attached to the text is not identified as one of your contacts, don’t trust it. But do check the number carefully – smishers use spoofing software and technologies to create fake numbers that look a lot like ones you know – including your own phone number.

It includes a tempting link. A link should always be a red flag. A hoax link or attachment might take you to a phishing website designed to collect more information from you (like a password), or download malware that will spy on your online activity and steal sensitive data from your device. Do not click anything. The website may even look legitimate, so make sure you check the URL to ensure that it is actually your bank’s website. Another way to test if a site is legitimate is to exit the site and enter your bank’s website how you normally would and attempt to find the page from the text.

The texter wants to “confirm” your deets. A text that asks to verify any personal information, even a phone number or transaction, is suspect. The sender is looking for information to access your bank account. Your bank would not request sensitive info in a text.

It’s hair-on-fire urgent. Scammers strive to trigger alarm and force action. If a message demands an immediate response – it might, for example, tell you to contact a linked “bank representative” to clear up suspicious activity – the only immediate action you should take is to report it.

It gets a “C” in grammar. Uncommon wording and spelling mistakes are a common giveaway of fraud texts – think “kindly” instead of “please” and mixing plurals and singulars. Also, a scam is more likely to be overly familiar (Hey, Bill!) or overly formal (Dear sir or madam). It’s important to know that as artificial intelligence becomes more commonly used to write emails, the grammar may not have as many mistakes as it used to.

It’s giving you a deal! Any message that appears too good to be true is, well, you know the rest. Your bank is not permitted to send you promotional materials unless you’ve opted to receive them. It also wouldn’t alert you via text if you had a sudden windfall.

 

Protect Your Account From Text Scammers: 3 Guidelines

If you receive a text alleging to be your financial institution, do not click on any of the links and do not respond. Report these texts using the report spam prompts on your phone, block the contact from messaging you again, and then call your bank directly (use the number on the back of your bank card or from its website). Remember, these text messages are designed to make someone panic so they act quickly without thinking. Take a moment to pause before acting.

In the meantime, these guidelines can protect you from becoming a target of smish scammers.

1. Ask your phone to protect you. Devices that use Apple or Android operating systems are equipped to filter out suspicious texts and unknown numbers (check your settings). Many major wireless providers also offer services to block or flag calls. Lastly, install two-factor authentication on your accounts to ensure security.

2. Ignore the sender. If you are not 101% sure of a text’s sender, do not respond, even to type “Stop” or “No.” Once you do, you’ve confirmed you are active on the device and an imposter pretending to be a bank representative will call and request more information, or the scammer will sell your active number on the Dark Web.

3. Keep your numbers to yourself. Never share account numbers, card numbers, social security number, or even your birth date with an unconfirmed contact. Personal identity details can be used to cobble together a fraud profile of you. Your financial institutions already have this information on file.