Safer Seniors Program

Our best defense against potential scammers is to educate yourself on scamming trends and to always verify a caller’s legitimacy before giving out personal information.

When in doubt, just hang up.

Telemarketing/Phone Scams

Perhaps the most common scheme is when scammers use fake telemarketing calls to prey on older people, who as a group make twice as many purchases over the phone than the national average. While the image of the lonely senior citizen with nobody to talk to may have something to do with this, it is far more likely that older people are more familiar with shopping over the phone and therefore might not be fully aware of the risk.

The Pigeon Drop

The con artist tells the individual that he/she has found a large sum of money and is willing to split it if the person will make a “good faith” payment by withdrawing funds from his/her bank account. Often, a second con artist is involved, posing as a lawyer, banker, or some other trustworthy stranger.

The Fake Accident Ploy

The con artist gets the victim to wire or send money on the pretext that the person’s child or another relative is in the hospital and needs the money.

The Fake Bank Call

The scammer asks you to provide personal information by pretending to be an employee at your bank. They may say that your account has been hacked and they want to verify your account information.