October is Financial Exploitation Awareness Month: Protecting Older Adults from Scams
Equipping older adults and caregivers with tools to protect themselves from financial exploitation.
This October, let’s equip older adults and their caregivers with the tools to protect themselves from financial exploitation. Scammers target seniors through sophisticated tactics that can drain life savings in an instant. However, by staying informed and vigilant, we can help protect our loved ones.
Ron Acierno, PhD, member of the new UTHealth Houston Roybal Center for Elder Mistreatment Intervention Research Grant under Carrie Pickering, PhD, shared that his father, 82, a healthy and vibrant man, sings professionally several times a week, and is the father of a well-known Elder Mistreatment researcher, is bombarded daily by phishing emails—around 70 per day—and receives 5-10 fraudulent calls a week pretending to be from credit card companies or other financial accounts. While he is sharp and attentive, some fraudulent attempts have worked against his father because they are sophisticated enough to seem legitimate, from fake antivirus renewals to urgent calls about unauthorized transactions and needing PIN numbers to reset the account (a financial institute will never call or text requesting your PIN).
The sad reality is that it only takes one scam to wipe out someone’s life savings. Acierno’s father has already fallen victim to multiple fraud schemes, such as scams involving large, unexpected bills or fake vacation packages. He was even victim to the notorious "grandchild in jail" scam, where scammers asked for large sums of money to be delivered to an “attorney” in cash via courier, all with a sense of urgency to bail out a loved one. “It’s all levels, never stops and if only one gets through, it is 1000’s of dollars. It is not if, but when his life savings will be wiped out” stated Ron Acierno, and this is increasingly true for many older adults that we know.
Common Scams Targeting Older Adults
Here are some of the most common scams that seniors face, which apply across the nation:
- Fake Antivirus Renewals
- Unauthorized Transactions Alerts
- Grandchild in Jail Scam
- Unexpected Bills
- Fake Vacation Packages
For more detailed descriptions of these scams and others, visit the Houston Better Business Bureau.
Scammer Strategies (Red Flags)
- Urgent requests for money or personal information.
- Claims of unauthorized transactions that need immediate action.
- Pop-up messages demanding a call to fix a computer issue.
- Making unreasonable demands such as not “allowing” you to contact others before sending money
Simple Steps for Protection
- Stay Connected: Talk regularly with loved ones about any suspicious financial requests or messages.
- Verify Communications: Use official contact information to verify unsolicited calls, texts, or emails.
- Technology Safeguards: Install anti-phishing and Robocall blocking tools to block suspicious communications.
Report Fraud
If you suspect fraud, report it to the following:
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- US Postal Inspection Service
This brief guide can be printed and posted as a reminder to stay vigilant of common scammer and fraud tactics.
If you would like more information about frauds and scams visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/fraud/