Another Senior Hacked
 

Coffee this morning.
Met a senior gentleman that was hacked.
Email from his bank or credit card.
He stated he was on phone for 45 minutes before he finally figured out that this was a scam conversation.

The advice from Consumer Reports/AARP.

1. Never click on any link in any email.
Do a Google search of bank or credit card and use officel customer
support number and call directly to verify if one thinks that there is a problem or
issue.

2. If you receive a phone call. Again. Hang up. Do a Google search of
bank/credit card and make a dedicated phone call yourself.

Also scams pretending from Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe's, UPS, Fedex, USPS, etc.

I got the Grampa scam call a few weeks ago. Guy pretending to be my grandson, wanting me to send him money to keep him out of jail. I was out walking my dog and it was real cold, otherwise I would have played along.

Google search results for customer support phone numbers can be and have been corrupted by spammers who either sponsor a link or spoof/overwhelm the Google algorithm with fake data. Be extra careful and obtain valid customer support numbers from physical documentation you have in your possession (like a bank statement or the back of your credit card) or by referring to a business website that you are 100% sure is authentic.

Another senior hacked
 

I may have posted this before, but if not, here it is. If you get a phone call and don't recognize the caller, NEVER use the word YES when talking with them. To get you to use the word YES, scammers will ask you a simple question to which the answer is obviously YES, but don't speak the word YES Scammers can "word shop" your voice into something making it look like you agreed to purchase something. Scammers are very clever at using identification such as "national police benevolence society" to make you feel warm and fuzzy and want to donate - don't fall for it. Scammers will catch you off guard with a question like "Is everything going all right in your town today?" My best advice, smile, and HANG UP.

My Dad fell for a variation of this 10 years ago. 'My brother' called and asked him to wire money to allow him passage out of Mexico. Dad promptly wired $5 or 6 thousand. Only, of course, it wasn't my brother. The dude called my Dad back a couple of days later saying he needed another couple grand...which Dad also wired. We caught wind of this during a visit when Dad asked why my brother was in Mexico.

I promptly filed a police report and, of course, they told me there was virtually no hope we'd ever get those dollars back. Remarkably, about a year later my Dad did recover those funds. I have no knowledge how.

After this event, we (Dad's kids) took over his financials and, along the way learned that he was bilked for $380,000 several years before (yes, you read that number correctly). But that's another story and the whole mess is still working it's way through the NY courts. Yes - 12 years running and no resolution yet.

In hindsight, we regret not becoming more involved in our Dad's finances earlier and as his age was catching up to him. If you have elderly parents, consider performing some proactive probing.

Just don't answer...
 

If I get a call from a number I don't recognize, I simply don't answer it. If it is something important and legitimate, they'll leave a voicemail. For emails, you can't simply go by the alias, you have to actually look at the email address to see if it is a fake. My in-laws were in their 80's when they got caught up in the scam of "your grand-daughter's been in an accident and needs $10,000.00", but luckily their local banker interceded and proved to them it was a hoax by having them call the girl directly.

This is an urban legend.

It is important to keep an eye on your older relatives and their finances. I had a cousin pass away about two weeks ago and she had suffered from dementia for a couple of years. At the wake I learned she had been scammed by telephone three times and had lost all of the money she had spent a lifetime earning. Sad story.

Regarding phone scams, on a lighter note: If you have not heard the Tom Mabe phone prank call it will make you chuckle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrzG5F4R3o

I’m not so sure about that.
Last week I had a call, the first thing he asked me was could I hear him.
I hung up.
If I don’t recognize the number, I answer don’t say anything. If they don’t say anything I hang up. Most missed calls don’t leave a voicemail, but the phone shows a message waiting. I’m getting ready to get rid of the phone.

Beware
 

I am careful when answering my phone and responding to texts and emails. However, the schemes to defraud are sophisticated and devious, so even if one is careful, you can still get scammed.

I was up early the other day handling an urgent matter for a foreign associate, and I received an email from my law partner asking me if I was going to be in the office that day. Everything looked familiar, the signature block, etc. Without looking at the email address, and without really thinking, I responded. Within a few minutes my law partner was asking me to pick up Apple gift cards. At that point I figured out was being scammed. So I wrote back about an hour later that I went to my bank and unfortunately all I could take out was $5,000 and asked whether that was enough. Needless to say the scammer was very excited!

The phone companies could easily stop most of these calls, but apparently there is too much money to be made. I ditched my landline many years ago, best move I made. The cell phone has much less spam calls, but you have to be vigilant. I always use theprofessors method when I get an email from a bank. The scams have gotten pretty sophisticated.

Two simple rules:
Don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. If you don’t have a phone with caller id, get one. Also, most newer phones allow you to tie caller id with your personal phone book. If the name that comes up is not written the way you programmed it, don’t answer it. Meridthman is correct, if it is important they will leave a message. (If you don’t have a phone system with answering capabilities, get one. They are cheap!) Also, most phone companies offer land line number block systems. I have one from Verizon that blocks 10,000 numbers. I don’t need to answer the phone, just push a button while the line is active.

If your grandson or granddaughter is calling from Mexico they will leave a message on voice mail with a call back number that you can verify.

Second, don’t open e-mails that say you’ve won something, UPS, FedEx, etc. is holding a package for you (my son works for UPS - they just don’t do that). Don’t open e-mails that say you’ve won something. (You haven’t). Don’t open e-mails from banks, etc. that say they are important. They most likely aren’t and if they were the bank would call and leave a voice mail message. Send these e-mails directly to your junk mail or spam folder. Reason? Did you know that you can request a return receipt for e-mails you send when they are opened? You can & so can scammers. This receipt tells them they have a “good” e-mail address that they can target with spam & scams and that they can sell to other bad actors. If you send it to junk or spam files it is blocked and (should be) used by your provider to reduce future bad actor e-mails.

Don’t ever respond to e-mails asking for account numbers, passwords, etc. This is private info and no viable company will use e-mail to ask for it.




Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

I kept my landline for this reason. Whenever I have to give out a phone number I give my landline because we never answer it, just get messages. I never give out my cell number unless it's family, friends, or an emergency.

I did that for a few years, but the only people who called me on it were spammers, just wasn't worth it. The cell phone is better at screening out spam and I'm selective about giving out my number. Seems to work well.