Protect Yourself from Financial Scams

Older adults lose a lot of money to scammers every year. You can protect yourself by becoming aware of common financial scams and how they work.

Americans lose $10 billion to scams every year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Scammers can steal your life savings, they warn. Scams can snare people of all ages. However, older adults can be especially susceptible. They may be more trusting of strangers and/or may be less tech-savvy about texts, emails, or social media.

In fact, the National Poll on Healthy Aging reports that more than half of older adults are not confident that they can recognize scams. “People age 50-80 who reported being in fair or poor physical or mental health, those with disabilities, and those who rate their memory as fair or poor were more likely to say they had experienced fraud,” they say.

Altogether, 3 out of 4 older adults have experienced a scam attempt, and 3 out of 10 say they have been victimized by fraud or identity theft, reports the poll.

If you’re like most adults who participated in the poll, you may be concerned about how to protect yourself from losing your money through a scam. It helps to understand how scams work. Then you can avoid falling for them.

What is a Scam?

A scam is a trick to steal your money or your private information. A scammer will pretend to be someone they’re not. They may be very convincing as they try to gain your trust. Often, they will describe an urgent situation. They will pressure you to take action immediately to provide money, a login, or financial information they’re looking for. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid trusting them.

Types of Scams

A scammer may contact you by email, text, phone, or social media. Here are some examples of scams:

Tech support scams: A scammer may tell you that there is something wrong with your computer and ask for your login credentials. Or you may get a popup on your computer saying you have a computer virus and asking you to click a link to fix it. This may allow the scammer to access private information on your computer.

Sweetheart scams: These often occur on social media or through online dating sites. A person you meet remotely may claim to be falling in love with you. They may start asking you to send money. Once they have the money, they disappear. More than 6,700 people over age 60 lost nearly $367 million to sweetheart scams in 2023, according to the FBI Elder Fraud Report.

Imposter scams: A scammer may claim to be from the government or your bank. They may ask you for bank account numbers or logins to make a payment. A recent scam is a text saying you must pay unpaid tolls, with a link for payment. Or they may claim they need to send you money, and they need your bank account numbers. Once an imposter gets into your account, they take your money.

Advance fee scams: A scammer says you have won a sweepstakes. To get your prize, you must pay a fee for transfer. They ask for your bank information.

Investment scams: A scammer tells you they can make you a lot of money on your savings or investments. They ask to take over your money. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Gift card scams: A scammer asks you to buy a large number of gift cards pay for something.

Emergency wire transfer: A scammer claims to be one of your relatives in trouble. They ask you to transfer money right away. Sometimes this is called the Grandparent scam, because a caller will call you “Grandma” or “Grandpa”. They will ask you not to tell anyone in the family what’s going on.

Phishing: Phishing is an attempt to get your personal information. An email or text may seem to come from your bank or credit card company and may look convincing. It may even show the logo. It will ask you to click a link to make a payment or type in your login. They will then be able to access your account and take your money or use your credit card. Never click a link from an unknown source. If you are unsure, delete the text or email and then call the institution.