In the current chaos that’s enveloping our world, it would be easy to take a break and allow yourself a few moments of mindlessness. However, while you are letting your guard down to step back from the vigilance required in today’s world, criminals intent on scamming you are working overtime, as the current conflicting and confusing information environment is the ideal opportunity to scam you into revealing personally identifiable private information. The data on such scams is alarming. For example, over 70% of Americans have experienced a scam in the last 2 years, and 46% report falling for a suspicious email and clicking an unverified link. 76% of Americans have lost up to $1000 in a scam, and 6% report losing more than $5000. The situation has become so alarming, especially as it entraps older, vulnerable adults, that organizations such as Walmart, Amazon, Google, and AARP are joining forces to coordinate and strengthen efforts against fraud targeting older individuals. You can read more about this scam-fighting collaborative effort here.

How is it possible that so many have been scammed or conned? In this high-tech world where information can be transported globally on the web within a matter of seconds, it’s not surprising that scammers are often one-step ahead of even the most savvy consumers, who may have frozen their credit, locked their social security accounts, signed up for credit monitoring yet might still fall for “the Grandparent Scam,” given the sophisticated voice technology that makes it virtually impossible to tell a human voice from an AI generated voice. Moreover, there exists an entire world many of us may be unaware of- the dark web- which requires special software to access and where such illegal activity as drug selling or stolen data sharing is regularly conducted. For some basic information on what you should do if you find out your personal data is being hawked on the dark web, put on your sunglasses and look here.

So, what are some recent scams you need to be aware of? Given the confusing environment currently surrounding Social Security, that’s certainly an area where older adults are ripe for exploitation and data stealing. You may be contacted by someone seemingly official claiming your Social Security account has been suspended, and you’ll need to pay a fine to “recover” it or provide some personal information to “renew” it. Don’t fall for this scam- a real Social Security officer will not threaten you or pressure you into immediately sending money (especially if they ask for it via a gift card). As with all suspicious calls, never reveal information, hang up, and call Social Security back using a publicly available number (admittedly, in the current climate, that may take a while) to explore whether, in fact, there is a problem with your account. Other Social Security scams currently being perpetrated? Suggestions that you need to apply to get your COLA increase (you don’t), emails containing Social Security “applications” for those of you newly eligible (always go directly to the Social Security website and never click a link in a suspicious email), suggestions that you need to download software to “update” your Social Security account (you don’t), or threats that your Social Security might be suspended if you don’t comply with whatever threats are being made. You should know, however, that researchers have found “stolen” Social Security accounts, where personal data has been fraudulently obtained, on the dark web for sale, with scammers taking advantage of the firing of the Social Security cybersecurity force. As one researcher has made clear, “Fraudsters thrive in times of crisis or change.

There have also been scams perpetrated in the name of the IRS, including those posing as official government IRS workers, using scare tactics or intimidation to get you to reveal your personal information. In fact, one survey found that 48% of Americans have received a fake IRS message, either through email, a text, or by phone. Older adults are the most frequent targets of these fraudsters, but you should know that official IRS officers would never involve local law enforcement, immediately demand payment, or request that you use a credit card or gift card. Nonetheless, better safe than sorry, as the saying goes, so you might want to consider getting an IRS personal identification PIN number to lower the potential of fraud being perpetrated against you or your personal tax information. You should also know that in recent months, many real estate scams have been reported against older adults, either stealing information to transfer deeds or titles to a scammer, contractor scams where you pay for work on the house but it never gets performed or reverse mortgage scams, where you are unduly pressured to take out a reverse mortgage that puts you and your home at risk. Common sense advice? Never undertake any real estate transaction without involving a professional and trusted broker, financial planner, or attorney. 

In today’s climate of untrustworthy information and AI interference, the bottom line is you can never be too cautious in revealing information or protecting your personal data. So, before you give away any details, take a look at how to protect yourself here and here.