With Advancing Technology, Come Advancing Scams
In one form of media or another, we have all heard the unfortunate horror stories of senior citizens getting scammed or swindled out of a lot of money.
In the U.S., there is an increasing trend of fraud crimes that are aimed at the elderly. As technology advances, so do the tactics of these crimes. According to the FTC this year, the most common kind of fraud in the U.S. were ones where people pretended to another individual or entity. They say that the reports of such crimes have closely doubled in 3 years.
The group that seems to be heavily targeted is the elderly. The FTC states that close to $150 million was lost in these scams by those that were 60 years or older in 2019.
In a lot of these cases, those that were victimized have a low possibility of getting or earning their money back, sometimes of which are mostly their entire life savings.
During the summer of this year, the Justice Department introduced a new team called the Elder Fraud Strike Force. Its role is to investigate and prosecute those that are involved in fraud crimes against the elderly that are foreign-based.
However, these criminals tend to work in highly organized groups and have created strategies that prevent them from being found and prosecuted. This is a significant change from the past where fraud crimes were usually limited to a small group of people that had limited skills. Now it is very much more intricate and sophisticated than before.
The Justice Department states that one method they are using to traffic money out of the country is by utilizing “mules.” These mules can be part of the scam network that will knowingly take the money and send it where they are ordered to send it to. Others unknowingly take the money and move it under a different idea as to what they are doing, such as working for a work-from-home business or that they have won a contest and will need to send in a fee to accept their prize.
As more mules are being used to move money, more law enforcement agencies are aware and strategizing ways to stop this crime.
In the U.S., the elderly are specifically targeted as they tend to have a large amount of savings along with less knowledge of technology and also these kinds of scams.
The game is continuously evolving, which is why many departments and agencies try to stay one step ahead of tech and methods these scammers may use to prey on the public.
These scams have gone from cash being transferred through or into accounts to much less traceable form of gift cards being used to pay these scammers. The culprits ask that the information on these gift cards be given to them, and they can use that data to move money without a trail to track.
Scammers also have implemented robocalls to reach out to potential victims as a lot can be done at one time for a lower cost. They will also use spoofing methods to make it look like another person or entity is calling. Malware sent to computers is also another opening for scammers to get money.
Many people have been victims of receiving popups that state they must contact a known tech company or that they will lose access to their computer. The victim will call the number that is provided and will speak to someone that is professional and acts as an agent of a reputable company. The “agent” will then generally instruct the person to go and purchase a gift card, sometimes of the company that they are posing as, and provide it to handle the issue.
Other methods that are used is with a remote access trojan that can allow access to webcams and to allow the perpetrator to have control over the device. This trojan can be downloaded by downloads or links.
Many of these criminals will spy on their victims and then contact them, posing as a relative asking for money. This is why many security professionals recommend covering your webcam.
Others will take over your computer and will blackmail you until you provide payment, normally through an untraceable method such as cryptocurrency.
For the agencies that are trying to get these criminals, whenever they take down someone, another scammer takes their place. However, agencies are seeing that operations are changing due to the heat that they feel from law enforcement.
Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, when the perpetrator is caught, the money still cannot be recouped as it has already been transferred somewhere untraceable.
Reporting these crimes immediately is critical, and it should not be reported any later than 72 hours. However, the New York Attorney General’s Office states that only 1 out of 44 people that have been victimized report the crime. A lot of times, these go unreported because those that have been scammed feel embarrassed and ashamed.
Seniors also do not report as they are afraid that they may lose their independence to some or even to a full extent to their children or caretakers. Some also do not report because they do not wish to cause any problems for their family.
