Older Kentuckians lost more than $12M to scams in 2023. These were the most common types
Tech support scams, phony investment schemes, fake romances — they all number among the most common scams targeting older Americans, who reported losing more than $3.4 billion in 2023, according to an Federal Bureau of Investigation report on elder fraud.
All told, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 100,000 fraud reports from people older than age 60 last year, with a total loss of $3,427,717,654. That figure represents an 11% increase from 2022, and losses among seniors have been on a rapid ascent since 2018.
In Kentucky, the agency received 908 complaints. Among individuals in the state older than 60, the FBI reported a total loss of $12,769,949.
Still, these figures likely don’t capture the full scope of the problem given the shame scam victims often feel, particularly those duped by calls from phony tech support centers, customer service departments or government agencies.
“Complainants over the age of 60 lost more to these scams than all other age groups combined, and reportedly remortgaged/foreclosed homes, emptied retirement accounts, and borrowed from family and friends to cover losses in these scams,” the FBI report said. “Some incidents have resulted in suicide because of shame or loss of sustainable income.”
The Herald-Leader reached out to the Kentucky attorney general’s office for comment about the impact of elder fraud in Kentucky, but did not receive the information.
Here’s a look at some of the most common schemes, including how to spot and report them.
Call center scams
Scams from phony call centers often fall into two broad categories: tech support and customer service or government impersonation. According to the FBI report, these scams account for $1.3 billion in losses.
The fraudulent call centers are often overseas and overwhelmingly target older adults, often to devastating effect. Almost half of the victims of these types of scams, 40% according to the report, are older than age 60. They experienced 58% of the losses (nearly $770 million in total).
Particularly devastating is the rise of the “Phantom Hacker” scam, according to the FBI, which often drains victims of their life savings. This more elaborate scam layers multiple phony personas, all in order to get at victims’ largest accounts to maximize the payout.
These FBI tips could help you avoid and spot call center scams:
Be on your guard when you get an unsolicited phone call.
Be alert to pressure tactics. Scammers will often claim your computer or bank account has been hacked and you need to take immediate action. Hang up the phone and call your financial institution directly.
Don’t trust caller ID, scammers can easily spoof phone numbers.
Be alert if the caller requests unusual payment methods that can’t be easily reversed, such as gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency payments.
Don’t click on unsolicited links sent to you via text message.
Don’t download software at the request of someone you don’t know who contacted you, and don’t allow that person to have control over your computer.
Report it. You can report impersonation scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FBI also requests victims contact their FBI field office and report it to the IC3. The office of Kentucky’s attorney general also has a scam complaint line.
Investment schemes
We’ve all heard of those too-good-to-be-true investments that promise guaranteed returns at little or no risk. They involve Ponzi and pyramid schemes, sham real estate deals and the like, though cryptocurrency is a new frontier and a lucrative one for scammers.
According to the FBI’s IC3 report, some 6,400 complaints from victims older than 60 reported financial losses that topped $1.2 billion in 2023. Most of these types of scams generally begin via social media and involve the development of a rapport between the con artist and their mark.
Widespread cryptocurrency kiosks, which work like ATMs and allow users to conveniently exchange their dollars for the digital currency, make it even easier for scammers.
“Scammers convince targeted individuals to withdraw large sums of cash and deposit into cryptocurrency ATMs or kiosks at locations provided by the scammers. Once cash is deposited and converted into cryptocurrency, the scammer transfers it to other cryptocurrency accounts,” according to the FBI report.
The FBI recommends the following tips to protect yourself for these types of scams:
If someone you don’t know contacts you, don’t give them any financial or personal information and don’t send them money.
Never take investment advice from someone you’ve only ever met online.
Confirm the veracity of any investment opportunity or cryptocurrency investment website or app.
If you’ve already invested money and believe you’ve been scammed, don’t pay any additional money to “withdraw” your investment.
Don’t pay for services that claim to recover your lost money. You risk further victimizing yourself.
Phony romances
You’ll know you’re the target of a romance scam if you meet someone online who seems genuinely interested and also too good to be true. The topic of money will inevitably come up, and romance scammers will often have plausible-sounding reasons for why they need it and why they can’t meet up in person.
Maybe they claim to be serving in the military or working for a company outside of the U.S. They’ll ask for help paying legal fees or other expenses that sound reasonable on their face.
These scams are especially devious because they unfold slowly over time and play on the emotional needs of their victims. Once that trust is built up, handing over a little money doesn’t seem so unreasonable.
If the target of the scam has provided sensitive photos of themselves, this can also turn into “sextortion.” This involves victims being extorted for money under the threat of sharing the photos with the victim’s family members or employer.
Similarly, there are also “grandparent scams” in which the scammer pretends to be a panicked loved one, usually a grandchild or younger relative, who is desperately in need of money or assistance immediately.
The FBI advises the following to help avoid a romance scam:
Be careful about what you make public online. Every detail you share can be used to construct a profile of you scammers can exploit
Google the person. Copy any supposed photos of themselves they send and paste them into Google to see where the photo has been used online.
Ask a lot of questions and look for inconsistencies.
Beware if the person wants to make things personal quickly and move from a dating app to text or calls. They may have a number of ready excuses as to why messaging on the app isn’t sufficient.
If you suspect someone is passing themselves off as a family member to get a payout, call the family member to verify it’s actually them.
Trust your gut and look for the appearance of perfection. If the person seems too good to be true, they might be.
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