Courtesy of Better Business Bureau
The annual arrival of Grandparents Day, which this year falls on September 11, brings an opportunity to educate older Americans about scams that are aimed directly at them. There is a constant barrage of badgering bad guys who try every trick in the book to steal the savings, limited incomes and identities of seniors. Your Better Business Bureau (BBB) urges you to take a few minutes to learn what these crooks are up to and pass the information on for the sake of protecting your friends and family. Greeting cards and flowers are great ways to remember grandparents but consider accompanying such tokens of affection with some scammer-avoidance advice as well.
According to AARP, cybercrime cost Americans who are 50 and older nearly $3 billion in 2021 – a 62% increase over 2020. Scamming categories are widely varied, but below are some of the predominate ways thieves trick the elderly.
Confidence fraud: the famous “Grandparent Scam” Confidence fraud cost seniors the most: $432 million. One of the main confidence scams is the “grandparent scam.” It works this way: During times when grandchildren are likely to be away from home, their college years or during holiday times, scammers make calls to potential older victims. They may start the conversation with a friendly or frantic, “Hello, Grandma! Guess who this is…” Hoping the victim will follow up with the name of a grandchild, the scammer claims to…
