10 Fraud Scams That Target Older Members

Be Aware of These Scams to Safeguard Your Funds

Older members — individuals age 60 and older — are often the target for fraudulent scams because they are more financially secure, they may experience memory issues, and they tend to be more trusting.

According to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), here are the top trending scams against older individuals.

1. The Grandparent Scam: Scammers will place a call to an older person pretending to be their grandchild. When the unsuspecting grandparent guesses the name of the grandchild the scammer sounds most like, the scammer has established a fake identity without any effort or background research. Then the scammer will usually ask for money to solve some unexpected financial problem. The scammer will also beg the grandparent keep the transaction a secret.
2. The Puppy Scam: Fraudsters will use classified advertisement websites to post a picture of a puppy that needs to be adopted quickly. Then once the scammer finds a prospective buyer, they'll request funds upfront for a pet, vaccine, or crate and shipping costs.
3. The Tech Support Scam: Scammers often pose as support or service representatives, offering to resolve issues related to a compromised email, financial account, virus on a computer, or even a software license renewal. These scams usually start with a phone call or a pop-up warning of a computer problem that gives a number to call. The scammers often claim to be a major software company — they may even spoof caller ID to make it look like one of these companies really is calling. These scammers convince people to hand over remote access to their computer and then make a big show of “troubleshooting.” They may open system folders or run scans that seem to show evidence of a problem. Then they ask for money for supposed repairs and things like fake service contracts.
4. Romance Scams: A scammer will create a fake identity online to build a relationship with another online user in an attempt to steal their money and personal information. Here are some common tactic romance scammers use:
   • They claim to be living or traveling outside the United States, which allows them to avoid meeting with victims in person.
   • They quickly escalate the relationship by using lots of flattery, professing love, and asking to move conversations off the dating service so they can communicate directly by text or email.
   • They make plans to meet in person, but always come up with excuses not to meet.
   • They claim to have a medical emergency or unexpected expense and ask for money. They also might ask for money to pay for a trip together or to come visit. They typically ask for money to be wired or to buy a gift card or cash reloadable card and provide them with the card number.
5. “The Pigeon Drop”: Generally, the scammer tells the potential victim (“the pigeon”) that they have found a large sum of money and are willing to split it if the victim will make a show of “good faith” by handing over cash to the scammer to hold while they are determining how to split the money.
6. Email/Phishing Scams: A senior receives email messages that appear to be from a legitimate company or financial institution, asking them to “update” or “verify” their personal information. This is an attempt to steal your information. Know that Wescom will never call or text you to request passwords, your account number, debit card number, credit card number, PINs, full Social Security number, online banking credentials, or any one-time verification codes — even if the caller or sender says (or looks like) they're from Wescom. If you receive a call from a phone number that looks like it's from Wescom and are unsure of the identity of a person claiming to be a Wescom team member, hang up and call us back at 1-888-4WESCOM (1-888-493-7266).
7. Investment Scams: These types of scams involve promises of big payouts, quick money, or guaranteed returns. Watch out for any investment opportunities that promise a high return with little or no risk. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
8. Homeowner-Related Scams: A couple of home-related scams include:
   • A property tax scam where scammers send personalized letters to different properties apparently on behalf of the County Assessor's Office. The letter, made to look official but displaying only public information, identifies the property's assessed value and offers the homeowner, for a fee, to arrange for a reassessment of the property's value and therefore the tax burden associated with it. The fee must be paid in advance, and after payment is made the victim never hears from the “Assessor's Office” again.
   • Scammers offer money or a free house somewhere else in exchange for the title to the property.
9. Sweepstakes & Lottery Scams: Scammers inform the older member that they have won a lottery or sweepstakes and must make some sort of payment. To lend credibility to the scam, seniors will often be sent a check, representing partial payment of the winnings that they can deposit into their credit union account. Before the check has time to be rejected as fraudulent, the scammers will quickly collect money from the older member for the supposed fees or taxes on the prize. When the check bounces, the scammers are long gone and the member is out all of the “tax and fee” money they paid the scammers.
10. Funeral Scams: Scammers read obituaries and call or attend the funeral service to take advantage of the grieving widow or widower. The scammer claims that the deceased had an outstanding debt with them, and will try to extort money from relatives to settle the fake debts. In another common scam, funeral directors will insist that an expensive burial casket is necessary even when performing a direct cremation.

We also encourage you to sign up for Wescom's free Account Alerts to notify you via text or email about activity on your account. To report unknown activity or fraud, or learn more about payment scams and what you can do to help protect yourself, visit wescom.org/security-center or call us at 1-888-4WESCOM (1-888-493-7266).