6 Elder Scams and How to Avoid Them

As scams targeting the elderly continue to rise in popularity, it’s important to stay alert - both on behalf of yourself and your loved ones. Know the warning signs by familiarizing yourself with these 6 types of elder scam:

1. Voice Clone Scams use artificial intelligence to make a phone call posing as one of your family members or friends. Often it will sound like your loved one is in trouble, and they need money urgently.
   
   
2. Government Imposter Scams call potential victims and pretend to be representatives of a government agency – like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They may claim that you owe them money, and you will be arrested if you do not comply immediately.
   
   
3. Medicare or Health Insurance scams involve people pretending to be Medicare representatives to steal personal information and/or money.
   
   
4. Romance Scammers create fake internet profiles to try and exploit people around the world for their money. Often they pretend to live overseas and request money to pay for travel expenses or other emergencies.
   
   
5. Computer Tech Support Scams target people who may not be as technologically advanced as others. The scammers often send pop-ups to these peoples’ computers, claiming that their device needs to be fixed - and say that they need to pay money to repair it.
   
   
6. Elder Financial Abuse happens when a family member, friend, or caregiver extorts an elder in their life. They take advantage of their relationship to steal money, assets, credit, or anything else the elder has to offer.
   

To avoid putting your finances in jeopardy, we recommend that you never give your personal information to an unknown entity over the phone or through the internet. If anyone claiming to be a family member, government agency, or other entity calls you asking for money, hang up and call them back at a verified number.

As a reminder, CoreFirst Bank & Trust will never email or call on an unsolicited basis and ask for personal information such as account and social security numbers, passwords or user IDs.

If you have any questions, or believe you are the victim of a financial scam, don’t hesitate to contact CoreFirst Bank & Trust and report the scam with the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or www.ftc.gov.