By Pattyl Aposhian Kasparian
Vice President, Caltech Employess
Federal Credit Union
There’s no way to sugarcoat this — scammers and fraudsters take advantage of every opportunity to financially exploit you.
All of us are potential targets when we access our email, surf the web or answer our phones.
In the eyes of fraudsters, senior consumers are fiscally fit victims for financial scams due to their substantial savings of liquid assets, which means assets that can be quickly and easily converted to cash such as checking, savings and brokerage accounts. Equally significant, seniors tend to have little to no credit card debt which gives them a higher credit score and creditworthiness.
Using your good credit, a fraudster will qualify and apply for high limit credit cards and loans. Scammers can max out loan and card limits within days if not hours. Victims of fraud are often left unaware until a collection agency calls, demanding payment for money borrowed.
“We are navigating dangerous times,” said Rich Harris, president/CEO of Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, a $2 billion financial institution exclusively serving the Caltech and JPL communities. “Fighting and deterring financial fraud is at the forefront of what we do to protect our members every day. It is heartbreaking to see members lose their hard-earned money to fraudsters because they inadvertently…
