Tag Archives: Crime

Be Rude With Some People

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As the Times Journal advises, Be Skeptical, Be Rude – Don’t Be a Victim

Each year, nearly 25 million Americans are victims of consumer fraud. Senior citizens are more at risk of telemarketing scams than any other age group. Fraudulent telemarketers direct 56 to 80 percent of their calls at older adults.

Evidence indicates that offenders believe older people have more assets and are more susceptible to excitement tactics or appeals to altruism. They have told police their ideal “mark” is an elderly person, who lives alone, with no contact with family members. They know that senior citizens will not give money or personal information to just any stranger. These experienced criminals have made a science of gaining the trust of older adults.

If a smooth talker wants to keep talking and you are concerned about his or her motives, cut the call quickly or even just hang up the telephone.  Follow up some of the principles involved in Assertiveness Training and stay in control of the conversation.  One trick is to have a short phrase that is easy to say, which is guaranteed, when repeated several times, to cause the caller to end the call. That could for example be “This is not for me.”

Scam artists are experts in establishing rapport to steal seniors’ money. There are a variety of approaches including:

  • You have won a prize, but must pay to receive it;
  • Great deals that need immediate payment with no written information;
  • Requests for donations for mysterious charities;
  • Calls from the supposed police, FBI or bank officials asking for “help” and your personal information.

Criminals assume that senior citizens will not report the crime to law enforcement officials because they will be ashamed of being victimized.  They also worry that concerned family members will take control of their finances.

Recognizing scammers is important and you then should report them to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.  This is critical to protect others. When you report a scammer, you help the police prosecute them and this stops the scammer from stealing from someone else.

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Seniors And Identity Theft

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In these tough economic times, there are even more wrongdoers who will try to take your money.  If someone can steal your identity, then they have open access to all your resources.

The Vancouver Sun describes an online scheme that offers refunds to taxpayers.  The website looks extremely authentic but it does not belong to the Canada Revenue Agency.

The Canada Revenue Agency and security experts are warning consumers not to fall for an online scheme that is tricking taxpayers into divulging critical financial information.  The phishing scheme, using the promise of a tax refund as a lure, is gaining momentum as Canada’s tax season approaches.

It’s even scamming in Canada’s two official languages.  Prompted by the refund promise in an e-mail, people are directed to a website where they are supposed to fill in their social insurance number, date of birth, their full name and a line from their tax refund.

Armed with that information, someone could contact the CRA and authorize such measures as the redirecting of refunds to another bank account or the redirecting of all tax-related documents.

Avoiding such phishing schemes is essential but not always easy.  In the US they are now moving to the issuance of a secure Social Security card.  This would be part of H.R. 50, The Social Security Identity Theft Prevention Act.  H.R. 50 is intended to protect seniors from identity theft and strengthen national security by providing for the issuance of a secure Social Security card.

Social Security Identity Theft Prevention Act – Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require Social Security cards to be made of tamperproof and wear-resistant material (currently, of banknote paper), and include a digital image of the cardholder as well as an encrypted, machine-readable electronic record containing biometric identifiers

It is now being studied by the House Committee on Ways and Means.

In Canada there are a variety of online resources to guide you on how best to avoid your identity being stolen.  SafeCanada in its information for seniors has a section on Seniors Safety and Security. 

Other useful resources are:

The last of these covers the following elements:

  • Protect your computer by using a firewall, anti-virus software and other security measures.
  • Always be suspicious of e-mails from financial institutions, Internet service providers and other organizations asking you to provide personal information online.
  • Protect your mail – place outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office. Promptly remove incoming mail from your mail box. Get into the habit of shredding or destroying pre-approved credit card, insurance or loan applications, bills, credit card receipts and anything that contains your personal information
  • Get into the habit of checking your credit report on an annual basis — the major credit reporting bureaus will provide one free report each year.
  • Do not give out personal information over the phone, unless you know the person to whom you are speaking, or you initiated the call yourself.
  • If you believe or suspect that your personal information may have been compromised, contact the proper authorities (i.e., your bank, credit card issuer, credit reporting bureaus, utility provider, and so on) as soon as possible.

Be extremely cautious and make sure you are not the victim of some phishing scheme.  Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes and it can affect everyone, including you. Protect your personal information from being at risk. It is better to be safe than sorry.

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