Help Mom and Dad Stay Safe Against Fraud

Throughout the world of finance, it is not uncommon to receive help from professional employees in order to resolve issues at hand. However, there are individuals who take advantage of this fact and impersonate these trusted personnel with the intention of exploiting people on the other side of the interaction. These types of scams steadily increase in frequency for Americans 60 years and older. In fact, in 2023, the FBI Elder Fraud reports over $3.4 billion dollars lost to these scams. Typically, these impersonators use scenarios concerning tech support, personal data breaches and investments to lure unsuspecting people. Factors that make this demographic of citizens susceptible to these scams include cognitive decline, social isolation and unfamiliarity with technology. Nonetheless, there are a variety of strategies that help protect seniors from scams.?

The first strategy involves educating elderly relatives about the occurrence of scams. Fraudsters typically reach out with unsolicited communication concerning a matter that they were unaware of. These false scenarios may be framed around tech support, government employees, or a potential inheritance. The central line is that all communications received about matters that one is not actively expecting should be deemed as suspicious. Second is adding a trusted contact to one’s parents’ financial accounts. This ensures that an individual of sufficient knowledge and integrity is reviewing the account activity and preventing abnormal transactions. The third strategy is to warn elderly relatives about the dangers of clicking on suspicious links. Criminals may use phishing websites to obtain sensitive information, namely usernames and passwords, in order to gain access to financial accounts and transfer money from it. Then, encourage the practice of typing the financial institution’s URL into the web browser to ensure that you are arriving at a legitimate website.?

In addition to the tactics mentioned above, being wary of pressure and urgency tactics is critical. Important to note, professionals will not stress clients in order to help them through their situation. Repeated pressure tactics in a stream of communication is a red flag. Lastly, remind elderly relatives to keep sensitive information private, unless they are sure that they are working with a professional.?