How to Identify Scams and Get the Word Out
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8/13/2018 How to Identify Scams and Get the Word Out Mike Edmiston, RSC & Dee Amundson, PSC 1 8/13/2018 Objectives O Definition and examples of common scams O How to recognize a scam O What to do if you or someone you know is a victim of a scam O How to protect our residents 2 8/13/2018 U.S. Statistics O 1 in 5 individuals in the U.S. is aged 60+ O 1 in 20 older persons indicate recent financial mistreatment O Only 1 in 44 elder financial abuse cases is ever reported to law enforcement O 9% of financial abuse victims must turn to Medicaid after their own funds are stolen 3 8/13/2018 In 2017 out of 2.7 million people… O 23% reported debt collection scams O 14% reported identity theft O 13% reported imposter scams O 1.1 million reported fraud O 21% lost a total of over $905 million O This is up $63 million more from 2016 O Average of $429 per person O 63,000 reported tax fraud O $74 million dollars lost on credit cards 4 8/13/2018 In 2017 out of 2.7 million people… O Scams were mostly done using phones O Money mostly paid via wire transfer O Average loss of $1,710 per person through travel, vacation, and timeshare scams O Military consumers had an average loss of $619 per person O More young people reported losing money to fraud than older people O Individuals 70+ had a higher average loss per person than other groups 5 8/13/2018 In 2017 out of 2.7 million people… O Top states for 2017: O Fraud reports O Florida O Georgia O Nevada O Identity theft O Michigan O Florida O California 6 8/13/2018 Around the World Australia - 2018 O Lost: $64,597,734 O Number of reports: 75,384 O 11.2% with financial losses O Investment scams responsible for almost $30 million in loss, followed by dating and romance scams with almost $15 million in loss O Phishing was the top reported with over 10,000 reports. Next closest is identity theft with just over 5,000 reports 7 8/13/2018 Around the World Canada O From January 2014 – December 2016 O Nearly $290 million lost to fraud O $28 million lost to Canadians age 60-79 O 2016 O 90,000 complaints with online scams accounting for 20,000 and more than $40 million lost O Estimated only 5% of victims report to authorities 8 8/13/2018 Around the World United Kingdom 2017 O £41 million ($54,132,546) to romance scams in 2017 O 3.6 million cases of fraud O 2 million computer misuse offenses O Overall increase of 8% in scams/frauds O 1 man lost £230,000 ($30,3642.32) from his company bank account via cybercrime and only recovered £100,000 O UK banks managed to stop £6 in every £10 targeted the first half of 2016 9 8/13/2018 Common Scams O Advance fee schemes O Romance O The prize will cost you O Vehicle O Online auctions (eBay) O Grandparent O Fraud jobs Medicare O Moneymaking schemes O (Pyramid Scams, Ponzi O Pet/Animal Scams) O Rental O Bogus charities O Inheritance O Scam schools O IRS O Vacation 10 8/13/2018 Scams and Seniors O Slower response time O More trusting O Fears O Frailties of Aging O Dependence on Others O Isolation 11 8/13/2018 Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors (FBI) 1. Health Care / Medicare / Health Insurance Fraud 2. Counterfeit Prescription Drugs 3. Funeral & Cemetery Scams 4. Fraudulent Anti-Aging Products 5. Telemarketing 6. Internet Fraud 7. Investment Schemes 8. Homeowner / Reverse Mortgage Scams 9. Sweepstakes & Lottery Scams 10. The Grandparent Scam 12 8/13/2018 13 8/13/2018 Bad Typing Skills Can Get You Scammed O Typo-squatting scam O More than 12 million web users fell victim in the first 3 months of 2018 14 8/13/2018 Bad Typing Skills Can Get You Scammed O Perpetrators set up fake web addresses that closely resemble legitimate addresses but the address contains common typos such as .cm versus .com. O If you land on one of those typo sites, you may just get nailed with viruses and malware. O The site may look so much like the real one that you'll be fooled into providing personal data, or look so much like the real site, that instead of buying the product you intended, you'll be purchasing knock-off or imitation products. 15 8/13/2018 Bad Typing Skills Can Get You Scammed O Limit your risk by: O Double-check the web address O Bookmark favorite websites O Use a search engine O Do not click on links found in social media posts or your feed O If you choose to ignore this, look for red flags: O A .com ending for a government website O Extra text following a .com like, www.example.com-(text) O A misspelling of the company's name O Typos in the domain (.com, .gov, .org, etc.) -- such as the web address ending with .cm instead of .com O Check and recheck the URL 16 8/13/2018 Secret Shopper Scams O The scam starts with a letter congratulating the recipient on becoming a secret shopper for Walmart and provides instructions for the assignment. O The letter comes with a legit-looking Postal Money Order with an amount, in this case, $990. O As the recipient, you are instructed to deposit the $990 money to your own bank account, then utilize $10 of the (fake) check to test Walmart's money transfer services. O Then, with the remaining $980, you 'keep' $160 and the remaining $820 should be sent to Texas for charity work through Walmart. 17 8/13/2018 Secret Shopper Scams O First and foremost, Walmart does not have a secret shopper program. O Depositing a check and seeing it as available in your bank account can be misleading. O The most important thing to know is that a check can bounce after you deposit it - even if your bank allows you to withdraw cash from that deposit. There are legitimate secret shopper businesses, but you don't have to pay to get into the mystery shopper business. 18 8/13/2018 Secret Shopper Scams O Do your research. The web will reveal if this is a scam. O If you get a solicitation via email, be advised that this is likely not a legitimate website. O To check if the website is legitimate, hover over the URL to make sure that the web address is correct for the company that the email is coming from. O Look for poor grammar and/or typos in the company's letter or email. O In the case shown in the photo, there were typos and grammar mistakes throughout the solicitation letter. The following is just one example: "In case you were asked if you know the receiver, Simply tell them Yes. Ignore any further questions asked for you to get accurate result." 19 8/13/2018 Secret Shopper Scams O Never wire money to someone you don't know. Wiring money is the same as sending cash. Once you wire it, you may never get it back. O Never agree to deposit a check from someone you don't know. If the check turns out to be fake, it will eventually bounce. Since you are responsible for any deposited checks to your account, you will owe the bank the money you withdrew. O Never give out your personal or financial information without knowing exactly what company will be receiving the information. Guard your personal information and treat it as if it were cash. Refrain from entering your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers online or by phone to someone who gets in touch with you. 20 8/13/2018 Oh Hail No! O The Better Business Bureau recently reported that a hail repair business took advantage of a woman who was getting her car repaired. O The business returned her car not only without having completed the upfront paid-for repairs, but with hundreds of miles added to the odometer. O That same business told customers they would pay for their rental cars, but later failed to do so. 21 8/13/2018 Oh Hail No! O Check references O Get at least 3 bids O Look for signs of insurance fraud O Payment/Contracts O Licensing O Roof Building Permits O Warning Signs O Utilizing Contractors 22 8/13/2018 Rental Scams are Growing O Bogus ads on Craigslist, Facebook and other forums O Offer rentals that really aren’t for rent O Listings tend to rise with the temperatures outside O Show appealing pictures pulled from other online postings O Offer an alluring lease rate 23 8/13/2018 Rental Scams are Growing O Almost always, the poster had to move away because of an unforeseen situation that solicits sympathy O “I’m a missionary in training who had to move to Carson, NV and soon I’ll be going overseas to do God’s work.” O There is always an excuse as to why the property can’t be shown O “You know I made mentioned in my previous email that My new contract came as an emergency. So as it stands now I will not be able to arrange a showing to you.” – email response from scammer posing as a nurse out of state O The posters insist they are completely trustworthy O “We both are honest people with good intentions, so we need trustworthy people.