KEEPING SENIORS SAFE FROM SCAMMERS. Say that ten times fast! It’s not just a tongue twister, but a necessity for many who are not technology savvy — and even for those who are. Scammers have become very crafty in copying business logos, email formats, language, etc. to fool us into thinking they are who they say they are. What might look like a message from your banking institution, for instance, is actually a group of scammers in a foreign country, rubbing their hands together with the joy of anticipated deception. It happens all too often, especially to our 65 and over population.

Recently, one of my friends was scammed out of hundreds of dollars because she fell for a texting ruse, in which the texter claimed to be from a large internet/cable provider. The story was that they were partnering with Target in a promotion that would only last a certain number of days, in which she could lock in a deeply discounted monthly rate if she paid for the entire year up front. The only requirement was that she had to purchase Target gift cards to pay for it — and then report back to them the numbers on the cards.

For those of us who have heard this story before, it seems like a no-brainer to ignore it and chalk it up to just another scam attempt. But for her, it sounded plausible and enticing. She said they were so pleasant and nice on the phone, and the deal sounded like a good one on her fixed income. Of course it did. They are seasoned actors and con artists. After some back and forth with them, and a couple of trips to the local grocery store to buy gift cards, she realized that there was no such thing as a Target promotion, and that she had just handed over her hard-earned money to criminals. She was understandably angry, hurt, and worst of all, feeling ashamed for being so trusting. It broke my heart and made me furious that they would take advantage of her trust like that.

Resolve Investigations will be launching a program this summer called Scam Savvy, that will provide education and resources to anyone who has a family member prone to this kind of victimization. Anyone will have an opportunity to subscribe to our free newsletter, but there will also be paid subscriptions to get personalized assistance when there is a question about the legitimacy or validity of a text, email or phone communication. Scammers will always be with us as long as new opportunities arise for them to exploit. The only way to stop them is to be smarter than they are. Stay tuned — more information is to come in the next couple of months!

–Diane Dierks