Top 8 Scams and How to Prevent Falling Victim

We are all targets when it comes to scammers. We are all potential victims. As in most things, your best defense is a good offense. Be aware of what scams are circulating and where. Know when to hang up the phone.

Here is a list of the Top 8 Scams circulating now. And some tips on how not to become a victim.

Health care scam

Senior citizens are most vulnerable to health care scams, according to Tod Burke, associate dean and professor of criminal justice at Radford University in Virginia. Burke says people will call as health care or Medicare representatives to gain access to their personal or contact information.

They will use their contact information to call seniors back at a later date and say they spoke with their daughter, son or other relative and that it’s OK to give them Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or other personal information. Scammers might also offer help getting seniors medical insurance.

Unscrupulous financial advisers

Gideon Schein, a partner with Eddy & Schein In-Home Administrators for Seniors, says seniors have to be careful, even with trusted professionals.

Financial advisers with excellent credentials, experience and ethnics abound, but it’s always important to pay close attention to the money coming in and going out of your investment accounts.

Great grandchild scam

Scammers will call pretending to be a grandchild or great grandchild and try to get money from the senior, Burke says. Before paying them, make sure the person is an actual relative.

A scammer will place a call to a senior citizen and when the mark picks up, the fraudster will say something like: “Hi, Grandma. Do you know who this is?” When the unsuspecting grandparent guesses the name of a grandchild the scammer most sounds like, the scammer has established a fake identity. Once they establish a relationship, they ask for money.

“They’ll know just enough information that they get from Facebook and other social media websites, such as where the grandkids live, where they are vacationing or other personal details, and use this information to get (the senior) to open up,” Burke says. “If the scammer is calling from a cellphone with bad reception or a Bluetooth, it’s not always easy to decipher and know it’s not the relative.”

Prescription and anti-aging drug scams

Because of the rising costs of some prescription drugs, senior citizens are going online to look for cheaper drugs. But these drugs can be counterfeit, making this scam extremely dangerous.

Or, in another iteration of the prescription drug scam, the fraudsters just take the money without delivering the drugs. These are referred to by Bonnie Russell, founder of the Stop Elder Financial Abuse website, as faceless online pharmacies.

The obituary scam

In the obituary scam, con artists read obituaries from the local paper and call the deceased relative’s family and demand money for a supposed outstanding debt that the deceased left behind.

Another version of this scam is when fraudsters read the obituaries to pinpoint recent widows as targets. After identifying their next victim, a messenger arrives at the home of the recent widow with a cash-on-delivery package, claiming the recently deceased spouse ordered something and then demands immediate payment. After taking the money, the messengers are long gone before the victim realizes the box contains old magazines or newspapers that are worthless.

If someone calls unsolicited, stating they are from the bank and that there is a problem with the account, hang up, Nofziger says. Then call the bank using the telephone number from a bank statement to find out if there is really an issue with the account.

“Do not give any personal or financial information over the phone to anyone requesting information about the deceased,” says Nofziger.

To prevent this kind of scam, pay attention to the information you put in the obituary — everything you publish will be public.

“Scammers will stop at nothing to steal from you, and they will use your vulnerability to their advantage,” Nofziger says.

Funeral scams

Even some shady funeral homes have been caught doing dishonest business. They will have seniors buy the most expensive casket, even if they are performing a cremation, Burke says.

They will say things like, “You need this casket because you want to be able to remember them this way,” Burke says.

When going to a funeral home, it’s best to have all the questions you want answered written down ahead of time, he says. Seniors should give themselves time to do their research. Go with a family member or a close friend.

Cemetery plot scams

Another tactic of disreputable funeral homes is to capitalize on family members’ unfamiliarity with the considerable cost of funeral services to add unnecessary charges to the bill.

These scams can affect anyone, but seniors tend to be targeted more often, Burke says.

Tech support scams

Tech support scams typically begin with a call from a blocked or international number. Often targeting trusting seniors, the caller claims to be a technician certified by Microsoft or another major brand.

Cybercriminals often use the names of well-known companies like Microsoft to convince people their services are legitimate, says a spokesperson for Microsoft.

Using scare tactics, the scammer urgently claims that he has detected a virus or malware on the senior’s computer. The caller may even ask to take over the personal computer remotely to install software that allows him to assist. And to clean the PC and fix the problem, the scammer inevitably asks for payment of several hundred dollars via credit card or online payment. Resist, and the scammer may get angry and threaten to destroy the computer, according to a Microsoft blog post about the scam.

Of course, there’s no real problem with the PC. And nothing gets fixed.

Read more: BankRate