Anyone can be the victim of a scam; however, senior citizens are more frequently targeted because they often have a higher accumulation of assets and tend to be more trusting of others than those in younger generations.
In our region, there are several common scams known to affect seniors, including the lottery scam, in which a fraudster tells you that you won a prize but need to pay a fee to collect your winnings; the grandchild scam, in which a fraudster identifies as your grandchild, says that they are in jail, and requests money for bail; and the virus scam, in which your computer prompts you to download antivirus software, and when you do, the program sends your personal information to a fraudster.
According to Officer Scott Bell of Mentor Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit, “all the usual scams, such as these, have been around for a while, but that doesn’t make them any less threatening…seniors in our community need to stay vigilant.”
The Crime Prevention Unit urges you to keep the following prevention tips in mind to protect yourself and your loved ones against scammers:
Be suspicious of any unsolicited call or message. Ask yourself, if the message make sense before clicking on links or taking the desired action, especially when you are urged to act immediately.
Check your accounts often. Regularly checking accounts will give you the chance to react quickly and report unusual activity.
Verify Information with a trusted source. Never send personal information or money without asking a trusted source to confirm any claims made by a potential scammer. If the claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
For more information, or if you suspect that you or your loved one has been scammed, please contact the Crime Prevention Unit at (440) 974-5760.