You’re happy, healthy, and about to settle into retirement. Falling for a fraud scheme? No way. You’re way too sharp. You can spot them a mile away.
Think again.
Take William Webster—as in the William Webster. He and his wife, Linda, came perilously close to falling victim to an elder fraud scheme that began with an unsolicited phone call and a Jamaican lottery scam. When the former director of the CIA and the FBI, now 100, repeatedly refused the caller’s $50,000 demand, the exchanges quickly turned menacing and threatening. But the Websters were lucky. Millions of others, not so much. (The scammer was nabbed and is now in prison.)
Elder fraud, in the form of phone, mail, Internet, and even in-person scams, increased dramatically during the lockdown and in its wake. AARP reports that fraudsters stole $10 billion from Americans in 2023, but an accurate figure is more elusive: seniors in particular are too ashamed to file reports. And practically nothing is off-limits. The scam space is constantly evolving with those involving toll roads, charities, and even sports working in tandem with old-fashioned identity theft and credit card fraud.
UVA Health geriatrician Laurie Archbald-Pannone, M.D., a nationally recognized advocate for seniors, calls scams targeting seniors an epidemic, reporting that her patients frequently tell her about being fraud victims. She urges them to do their due diligence when unsolicited offers arrive. And to be especially wary of anything that claims to be urgent or time-sensitive. She also coaches her patients not to be embarrassed to report scams.
AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360) is a good resource for not only reporting scams but also for more information and advice on how to prevent scams and identity theft. AARP.org
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue.