Avoiding Senior Scams: Ways to Protect Yourself

Scammers are always active looking for their next victims. Follow these tips to help keep yourself safe:

• Shred Statements and Don’t Share Personal Info. Invest in a paper shredder and use it to destroy all receipts containing your credit card number. Regularly check your bank and credit card statements and never purchase anything from an unsolicited offer over the phone or internet. Don’t give out personal information to someone who initiates contact with you.
• Stop Sales Calls and Manage Your Mail. Visit the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov and sign up to stop telemarketers from contacting you. Don’t let your mail sit in your mailbox for a long time. Use direct deposit to ensure that checks go right into your accounts and are protected from scammers who have been known to steal benefit checks from mailboxes.?
• Examine Emails Closely. Keep an eye out for phishing emails which can appear to come from a bank, credit union, or other trusted organization but are from scammers who want to infect your computer with a virus and steal information. Don’t click on links in email or download attachments. Instead, visit the website from a new browser window.
• Beware of Tech Tricksters. A popular scam involves a call coming from Microsoft, Apple, or another tech company informing the person who answers the phone that their computer is infected or being used illegally, and they must pay a fee to fix it. Hang up immediately! Sometimes the caller will instruct the user how to allow them to access their computer remotely. Then the caller will install malware on the machine and steal information.
• Protect Your SSN. Many older people rely on social security benefits to survive. The Social Security Administration never suspends or disables anyone’s Social Security Number. If someone calls representing the SSA and tells you your social security number has been suspended or used for illegal activity and you will need to pay a fee to get a new number, hang up. Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357) to report the call.

You can never be too careful when looking out for scams. Simply being cautious of unsolicited phone calls, mailings, and door-to-door service offers and not giving out your personally identifiable information will go a long way toward helping you avoid becoming a victim of fraud.