New year, new scams. It seems that none of us can catch a break when it comes to staying alert and aware of potential fraud being committed against us or our loved ones. While scams from years past continue to plague older adults (for example, those romance scams targeting lonely older adults online or through dating apps continue to be on the rise – and older adults still fall for false prize awards that require them to pay taxes or fees to receive the prizes- which actually don’t exist), newer swindles have arisen, targeting everything from your Social Security to your retirement vacations to your social media accounts. 

First, the threats posed by the growing integration of artificial intelligence into everyday life continue to loom large. We previously addressed the potential for artificial intelligence to mimic the voice of a loved one and therefore fool you into believing you are speaking to a young grandchild or other beloved friend or relative when you pick up the phone. Axios just reported that the company Open AI has released a program called Voice Engine that can recreate a very good version of a person’s voice with just a 15-second recording of that voice. While there may be some positive and useful reasons for this technology, the potential for substantial abuse is present, such that they are limiting who gets access to this technology for the moment. However, it’s easy to imagine the chaos that can be unleashed with this, and you don’t even have to imagine if you read this recent true story in The New Yorker about a Brooklyn couple scammed by the AI voice imitations of their aging parents. What’s perhaps even more frightening is how many people might be scammed during the upcoming election season by AI-created robocalls or online ads that purport to be the voices of candidates speaking to voters.

Scams and fakery online seem to know no bounds these days. The Daily Beast recently reported on the onslaught of AI-generated content on Facebook, and the risk that many older Facebook users are unable to discern what content is real and what content is fake. Research seems to suggest that older participants on Facebook are especially vulnerable to believing that AI-generated images or voices are actually made by humans, and may miss some of the telltale signs that imagery is fake, including odd-looking teeth or hands. And moreover, you need to beware that just because a post or image is shared by a friend or loved one doesn’t guarantee that it’s not fake or falsely constructed. In fact, the Social Security Administration recently issued a warning as to how you can determine if a social media account purporting to be from the Social Security Administration is fake.

And speaking of Social Security, that government program itself is not immune from fraud and scams. The New York Times recently reported on how scammers can break into your Social Security account and redirect your direct deposit to a new account, or how fraudsters can pose as Social Security employees to swindle you out of personal and private details that will allow them to steal your money. According to The Times, approximately 2000 beneficiaries of Social Security had their direct deposits unknowingly rerouted to a fraudulent account last year. From 2019-2023 more than 7500 people reported to the Federal Trade Commission that their direct deposits had been diverted from their own accounts to someone else’s. Apparently, people living in long term care facilities are especially vulnerable to this sort of fraud. Obviously monitoring your direct deposits is critical to preventing or catching fraud. You can also put in place online blocks to prevent changes to your account information. For more on Social Security scam awareness, click here.

The Medicare system is also vulnerable to fraud and theft. You may be aware of rackets that involve unscrupulous physicians teaming with medical equipment suppliers to bill Medicare for unneeded equipment that patients themselves never actually receive. The physicians get a kickback while the equipment suppliers get paid for equipment never delivered. Your personal Medicare info may be compromised as a result. It’s obvious that you should never give a stranger or someone you don’t directly know your Medicare information and you should also review your statements from Medicare to make sure that there are no reports of equipment or services you never actually received.

One last scam about which you should be aware. Apparently, even your retirement vacation plans are up for grabs from scammers. According to another recent article in The New York Times, vacation timeshares are the latest target of Mexican drug cartels, who use false identities to promise to purchase your timeshare while instead bilking you out of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, along with no actual sale. According to the FBI, this scheme has resulted in the loss of over $280 million for timeshare owners over the last 5 years. Older, retired individuals are the primary targets of this scheme. So next time you receive a call offering you more money than seems possible for your timeshare, remember, an offer too good to be true probably is a scam.