LWers get advice on avoiding fraud

SCAMS

by Emma DiMaggio

Communications Manager

On July 9, LW residents gathered in Clubhouse 4 to learn about how to protect their money from fraud and sharpen their understanding of common scams.

“Long gone is the trust we used to have for each other,” said Jackie Wiley, education and outreach coordinator for the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). “We don’t know who to trust anymore.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic, fraud complaints to the DFPI have tripled, according to Wiley. More people of all kinds are falling victim to scams.

Wiley urged seniors to stay vigilant and remain cautious, especially when they receive unsolicited calls, texts, emails, letters or social media messages.

Messages should be treated as suspicious until proven otherwise, even if they involve familiar companies, organizations or names.

“Anybody is susceptible to becoming a victim of fraud,” Wiley said. “Older adults are vulnerable. They prey on us. They look for the widows, they look for the lonely, they look for somebody welcoming a phone call, looking at their emails.”

Scammers take advantage of people’s innate trust in the messages they receive, and then ramp up the pressure to get what they want—usually personal or financial information.

Nearly all scammers use this sense of urgency, which is just one of several high-pressure tactics that prevent people from thinking rationally. If someone says that you have to do something immediately or else something bad will happen, it’s a red flag that you may be speaking with a scammer.

A second red flag is secrecy. Scammers will urge their victims not to tell anyone what is happening to them, saying that telling others may put them at risk. This is a ploy to keep people on the phone and away from the friends and loved ones who could alert them to the scam.

That’s because a scammer’s worst fear is that a victim will realize that they’re being deceived.

The most important thing that someone can do when they receive a suspicious phone call or message is to go to the official source for confirmation.

If the bank calls, a person should look at his or her bank card and call the number listed. People should never call the phone number given to them in the suspicious call or email, as it could be a fake phone number set up to deceive the victim.

“If someone is telling you to do something, instructing you to make a payment to your utility company, buy a gift card to pay it—who does that?” Wiley said. “We have got to stop and think about what they’re telling us to do. Go the source to verify. We are no longer, or should no longer be believing who’s calling and what they’re saying.”

When in doubt, assume that the call, message or email is fake and go straight to the source. This applies to financial institutions, government organizations, law enforcement, utility companies, debt collectors, tech support companies, and even relatives.

Here are a few common scams to avoid. By familiarizing oneself with common scams and red flags, people can better avoid scams before they escalate to financial loss.

People should be aware that new scams and fraud tactics are always in development, and no list of scams is ever fully exhaustive.

Rather than watching out for specific scams, people should remain on high alert in all their communications and always double-check that the person they’re speaking to is legit.

Do not give in to highpressure tactics that leverage a sense of urgency, threat of danger, secrecy or play on emotions to convince someone to do something they’re not comfortable with, financial or otherwise. It is okay to hang up the phone on any call, at any time.

• Government and Business Imposters: Don’t trust people who claim to be calling from the government or from a trusted business. The IRS will not call you directly, nor will the FBI to discuss the security of your laptop. The same is true of banks calling to confirm your bank information. Never give out your personal or financial information on a phone call. When in doubt, find the official number for the business or government entity online and call them directly.

• Law Enforcement Scams: Do not trust anyone who calls and claims to be with law enforcement. Even if a name sounds familiar, find the law enforcement office’s official number and call to confirm that the call is legitimate. Anyone can find the name of an officer, or information about a law enforcement department through publicly available information online.

• Fake Debt Collectors: If you receive a call about a debt that you don’t recall having, hang up and go to the source. Many times, people will agree to pay for debts that they don’t remember having, such as a Macy’s card or student loans that have already been paid off. Always check with the original loan provider, if there is one. Never make payments over the phone or via message, as the scammers are only looking for an opportunity to steal your financial information.

• Package Delivery Scams: People may receive texts that appear to be from Amazon or UPS, often containing a link. By clicking the link, you may unwittingly download malware onto your device and be asked for sensitive personal and financial information. In these cases, delete or block that phone number and never click on suspicious links.

• Tech Support Scams: Scammers will pretend to offer technical support services to trick people into paying for unnecessary services or stealing their financial information. The scammer may call and claim to be from a legitimate tech support company, or a pop-up on the computer may urge you to call a specific number to fix the computer. If your computer begins making loud noises or you see a large pop-up saying the computer is infected, hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn the device off. Ask for help from a trusted relative, or call a local tech support company that can help. Never call the number listed on the pop-up warning.

• Wrong Number Text: A scammer will text something unassuming like “Hello” or “Are we still meeting for dinner on Saturday?” Once you text back, the person may seem apologetic for texting the wrong number, and then try to strike up a friendly conversation. They may begin to ask for personal information or some financial help. Never respond to unsolicited texts from a phone number you aren’t familiar with.

• Grandparent/Relative Scam: For example, a scammer calls claiming to be your granddaughter, saying they’re in jail and they’re scared, and to please not tell their parents, creating a sense of both urgency and secrecy, two red flags. The victim may say, “Margaret? Is that you?” “Boom, you’ve just given them your granddaughter’s first name,” Wiley said. In these cases, hang up and call back the phone number you have on file for your granddaughter to confirm whether the call is really from her.

People should always be on the lookout for red flags, such as:

• Trying to convince you of something.

• Playing on emotions.

• Instilling a sense of urgency.

• Acting threatening or saying bad things will happen if you don’t comply.

• Making sure that you keep the call secret and don’t tell anyone what’s happening.

• Offering something that’s too good to be true.

• Asking for wire transfers, prepaid cards, gift cards or cryptocurrency.

People can submit complaints about fraud cases and scams at https://dfpi.ca.gov/ submit-a-complaint/. The DFPI issues regular consumer alerts at https://dfpi.ca.gov/news/.

Speaker Ben Wong (l-r), speaker Jackie Wiley from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and Seal Beach Councilmember Nathan Steele.Emma DiMaggio