It may start out as a phone call, text, email, or message on social media like my uncle got last spring. Someone may claim they are from the FBI, the Treasury department, or your bank. Or you could receive a notification: "Congratulations! You've won a prize. But first, you need to pay taxes up front to receive your winnings." Scams targeting Americans 60 and older resulted in over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023, an 11% jump from the previous year, according to the 2023 FBI Elder Fraud report.

In 2023 the FBI said the top types of elder fraud included:

• Tech support scams
• Personal data breaches
• Confidence and romance scams
• Non-payment and non-delivery scams
• Investment scams

Frauds and scams can happen at any time, and older adults could be even more vulnerable due to cognitive decline, social isolation, and less familiarity with technology. I know this first-hand because it happened to my mom. Today more than ever, it's important to know the red flags and to talk to your parents or other elders in your life about how to help protect their assets.

Talk to your parents and educate yourself about imposter fraud

• Imposter fraud happens when bad actors impersonate people or organizations you would ordinarily trust. The fraudsters could reach out with an unsolicited phone call, email, or text, and could even use a company logo to mislead you into thinking a communication is legitimate. Talk to your parents about these types of scams and share specifics and stories. 

Consider adding a trusted contact on financial accounts

• Adding a trusted contact to your parents' financial accounts allows a financial firm to move more quickly when addressing suspected fraudulent activity. Designating a trusted contact provides another layer of protection to help your financial institution keep accounts safe.

Warn your parents and others about clicking on suspicious links

• Warn your parents about clicking on links sent through social media or text unless they're confident they're real. This is how fraudsters scammed my mother—more on that below. Beware of phishing websites. Criminals could design websites to mirror a financial institution's page, which could be found through a search engine online. When someone tries to log into the scammer's fake website, they could receive a pop-up saying there's an issue with their account and a phone number to call to resolve the issue. This phone number is not associated with the financial institution, so the person ends up talking to a fraudster impersonating an employee. The fraudster makes a claim that the account has been hacked and they need to gain access in order to protect the person. Then the criminal tries to get the person to download remoting software which allows the fraudster to see that person's screen. The scammer tries to get the victim to provide their login credentials, then the criminal could begin moving money out of the account
• To help protect yourself: Instead of searching for your financial institution in a search engine, type in the company's URL to help ensure you are going to the legitimate website.

Be wary of urgency and pressure tactics

• Consider talking to your parents about being cautious with communications urging immediate action or pressuring them to invest quickly with promises of guaranteed or unusually high returns. Last spring, my uncle started getting rapid messages on social media that he needed to join a group to start receiving day trading tips. The messages indicated that very public figures on Wall Street would tell him exactly when to buy/sell certain investments. There were so many red flags, and fortunately, he contacted me to verify the validity of the messages rather than acting on them. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Remind your loved ones to protect sensitive information

• If someone asks your parents for their bank account number, their Social Security number, or their one-time password—that's a red flag. Remind your parents to never give sensitive information over the phone, email, or text message unless they are sure they know who they're dealing with. And be skeptical of anyone requesting that you share your one-time password, as criminals may be requesting your code so they can login and access your money.

For the full article and more information click here.

If you suspect you, or someone you know, have been a victim of elder financial abuse, please contact: Michigan Department of Human Services - Protective Services Hotline - 855.444.3911