While phone calls remain the most common ways scammers target older persons, the percentage of those age 60 and older who were targeted through social media grew from 3 to 15 percent over 2017-2021, according to the Senate Select Committee on Aging.
The committee’s latest report on the topic says that its own fraud hotline and FTC statistics show that scammers continue to rely heavily on phone calls to those in that age group, and especially so for those on the older end. “Scammers can use phone calls to impersonate government agencies or family members, sometimes masking their caller ID as the person or agency they are impersonating, a tactic known as spoofing,” it said.
However, it adds that “As older adults become more active online, scammers may increasingly use social media as a method of contact. Social media offers scammers an opportunity to access personal details and gain trust from the older adult.”
Despite warnings to consumers, scams continue to grow with more than $5.8 billion in losses reported to the FTC in 2021, an increase of more than 70 percent over the previous year. Older adults report the highest losses per person.
Suggestions for protecting against falling victim include (in its words): do not accept a new friend request from someone that you already have as a friend or that normally is not connected on social media; do not click on links sent by friends with whom you normally do not communicate; avoid clicking on ads that offer low prices on popular items and brands.
Also: avoid quizzes and other similar social media threads that ask you to provide personal information, such as places you have visited, your favorite food, hobbies, or pets; stop all contact with a potential scammer by blocking instant messages and email addresses; protect your social media account access by using strong passwords and privacy settings to hide information like your city, phone number, and date of birth.
The most frequently used scams involves impersonating a government official, most frequently asserting there is a problem with Social Security benefits or that the person owes taxes or fees to the IRS. Warning signs include being asked to provide information the government would already have; pressure to act quickly; and pressure to send money through gift cards, prepaid debit cards or overnight delivery of checks.
