Social Security scams costing Americans

These Scam calls seem to be increasing. We get a half dozen a day, anymore....some even showing our own phone number on the caller ID. The Only way to avoid any such problems is to Not answer the phone when a suspicious number appears. If it's a legitimate call, the person calling can leave a message. and then we can option to either answer while they are leaving a message, or call them back. So long as people are gullible enough to fall for these scams, they will continue.
 

fmdog44 said:
Sadly there was a piece on the scam on the CBS evening news today where the couple withdrew what they said was their life savings $150,000 and sent it to the bad guys. It is incredible that people still have not caught win of this scam and others like it.
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What are they thinking ... when someone calls and tells you to withdraw all your life savings and send it to an overseas account ... and be sure not to tell anyone about it .. Don't red flags go off??
I don't understand it.

And even more ridiculous ... the FBI asking for gift cards!
 
StarSong said:
With advanced age many lose some ability to discern scams.
What sounds ludicrous to a 60 year old can seem quite plausible to that same person at 85. Doesn't mean they were stupid in younger years.
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I heard of a local woman some years back (in her 80's), who was loosing her ability to understand the function of money (cash) .. she started flushing money down the toilet when no one was around. It took a while for anyone to catch on..
 
At one time, if a message left on your machine, seemed like a wrong number,
and that the message was intended for someone else, instead of yourself,
and that it might be an important message for them,

then, it did seem decent and considerate, to call the phone number given by the caller, in order to tell the caller they had not reached the intended person with their message.

But oh whoa, not nowadays!
Even though there still are messages left on wrong numbers, I wouldn't call any back, as most are likely scams, causing lots of trouble and expenses!
 
Bonnie said:
What are they thinking ... when someone calls and tells you to withdraw all your life savings and send it to an overseas account ... and be sure not to tell anyone about it .. Don't red flags go off??
I don't understand it.

And even more ridiculous ... the FBI asking for gift cards!
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I was just saying the same thing to a friend at the senior center yesterday. Who in their right mind would think a government agency wants payment via gift cards?! I know young people can be clueless sometimes but I read about a girl who lost some of her college money because she gave scammers money they requested via an iTunes gift card. Seriously! And of course how insanely gullible not to notice the other red flags you mentioned.
 
I kept getting calls from numbers I didn't recognize so I didn't answer. They were always similar, but slightly different. It was averaging four times per day so I finally got fed up and answered, knowing it was going to be a scam. It was a so called Medicare benefit advocate. I asked "What does this concern?" The person replied "We're sorry that you are suffering discomfort". I told them I wasn't suffering any discomfort.

They came back with the statement that my doctor had ordered a back brace for me. Now, I did have back surgery in late September, but I'm completely healed and my specialist released me. I asked who the Doctor was that ordered the brace. They said they couldn't tell me due to Hippa laws. I said Hippa laws are to protect my medical records, not to keep my Doctor's information from me. The person kept going on about Hippa stuff but it was obvious she was lying. I was angry and honestly don't remember what else I said, other than "stop calling me".

This is a known scam and what happens is, if you agree to accept their offer, you'll be shipped all sorts of medical stuff and you'll end up getting charged by Medicare for it. How though, would they know that I might need a back brace?
 
Many times, I say to the caller, even if its not a scammer "I have a hearing loss, so you'll have to repeat slowly, talk loudly, and speak very clearly."

That's not a lie, so usually scammers (many of them seem to have accents) hang up. If its a legit call, they apologize and start over. This has worked well for me.

A couple of months ago, one scammer threatened to have me found by the police and taken to jail. I said "good luck of finding me - I am on a trip to see my wife, whose out of town in the hospital." (which was true)
 
All of these stories pale in comparison to the people who give money to Benny Hinn, Jim Bakker and the rest of the "salvation sellers." The reallly unbelieveable aspect is that those stupid "sheep" are shorn so easily from money they somehow managed to acquire in the first place. Tragically, these decision-makers are also registered to vote...which explains a lot.
 
I just found out a friend of mine had just been "catfished". She fell so deeply in love with a photo of a man on a dating site. They talked on the phone and he sweet-talked her into sending him money to Europe so he could leave and be with her! He told her he finally got his money back and if she gives him her bank acct. info he will pay her back and wire the money to her account right away! She did! She called the bank to see if the money had been returned yet and found ALL her accounts had been cleaned out and sent to an account in Nigeria! I can't believe anyone could actually do this!
 
It must be working or the people doing it would not continue. Elders today were raised to believe that most polite well-spoken people were honest and could be trusted and believed. It was rude to be impolite or to not be trusting of strangers.

By elders I mean those in my own age group, i.e. 80 +
 
Gaer said:
I just found out a friend of mine had just been "catfished". She fell so deeply in love with a photo of a man on a dating site. They talked on the phone and he sweet-talked her into sending him money to Europe so he could leave and be with her! He told her he finally got his money back and if she gives him her bank acct. info he will pay her back and wire the money to her account right away! She did! She called the bank to see if the money had been returned yet and found ALL her accounts had been cleaned out and sent to an account in Nigeria! I can't believe anyone could actually do this!
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I find it difficult to believe anyone is still falling for that Nigerian scam, it's got to be the oldest one since the dawn of the internet...
 
There are some very creative scams out there ...some are so logical and good that it can be hard not to get caught up ....there is one that involves testing consumer products you buy .you get to keep the goods if you comply with the time line .

they ask you to buy a bunch of products and review them within 10 days ....they send you a check for 2k ....so once you charge everything on your credit card because the check has to clear a foreign bank ,they ask you to review the products ,test them , and send them the change back and you get to keep all the products .

well by the time you find out the foreign check is no good you charged 1500 in goods and sent them 500 dollars back of your money
 
mathjak107 said:
There are some very creative scams out there ...some are so logical and good .......
well by the time you find out the foreign check is no good you charged 1500 in goods and sent them 500 dollars back of your money
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Foreign check? 'Nuff said! Except for........if anyone asks for money upfront, fuhgeddabout it!
 
This is one of the best scams I’ve heard about.
You arrive at your hotel and check in at the front desk. Typically when checking in, you give the front desk your credit card (for any charges to your room).

You go to your room and settle in. All is good.
The hotel receives a call and the caller asks for (as an example) room 620 - which happens to be your room.
The phone rings in your room. You answer and the person on the other end says the following: 'This is the front desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge card information. Please re-read me your credit card number and verify the last 3 digits numbers at the reverse side of your charge card.'
Not thinking anything wrong, since the call seems to come from the front desk you oblige.
But actually, it is a scam by someone calling from outside the hotel.
They have asked for a random room number, then ask you for your credit card and address information.
They sound so professional, that you think you are talking to the front desk.
 
I was getting some of those, some are smooth...some are really stupid. BUT you don't need to deal with these, cell phones and home phones now come with a lot of help. Call blocking of private/unlisted callers, your phone does not ring. However they can leave a message. Common sense also has a lot to do with it.
 
mathjak107 said:
This is one of the best scams I’ve heard about.
You arrive at your hotel and check in at the front desk. Typically when checking in, you give the front desk your credit card (for any charges to your room).

You go to your room and settle in. All is good.
The hotel receives a call and the caller asks for (as an example) room 620 - which happens to be your room.
The phone rings in your room. You answer and the person on the other end says the following: 'This is the front desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge card information. Please re-read me your credit card number and verify the last 3 digits numbers at the reverse side of your charge card.'
Not thinking anything wrong, since the call seems to come from the front desk you oblige.
But actually, it is a scam by someone calling from outside the hotel.
They have asked for a random room number, then ask you for your credit card and address information.
They sound so professional, that you think you are talking to the front desk.
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Wow! Thanks for the head's up on this, @mathjak107. I'll tell my hubby & friends to beware.
 


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