Scammers cheat American Elderly out of over three billion dollars a year that is unrecoverable. It is important to understand the various types of scams that often succeed.
Scammers will call a person based on the fact that they have been listed as a survivor to a recent death. The scammers know that a person is often in so much emotional hurt and confusion from the loss of a loved one, that they will often believe things they are told over the phone, even if unusual.
They will engage the MARK, a Mark is a person who has been targetted for abuse. A scam. They will claim that the Mark, or the Mark's recently lost loved one was owed back money or a refund, or a rebate, but to get the money, the mark must log on to their computer, and then to log on to their bank. Through the process the mark is walked through installing software on their computer that allows the scammer to change the code that shows the numbers in the bank account.
They then walk the mark through a process of getting their "Refund" and one way or another they make the mark believe that the mark has made a mistake, and instead of getting a refund of a set amount, it is ten times or one hundred times more money than should have been "Refunded"
They convince the mark that the money has indeed been deposited in their bank, by faking the image on the screen from the bank, they often have to BLACK OUT the screen in order to edit the underlying computer programming that shows the numbers from the bank. The marks' computer shows the "Mistake" but the bank does not see the money, because it is not real.
The scammer will cry and complain that they will lose their jobs, that their children will go hungry, that they will have to repay the mistake, and so on. They will yell, they will do every evil thing they can think of to convince the mark that they are in trouble.
The scammer then does everything they can to get the mark to obtain cash,or gift cards that can be used as cash, to return the Mistakenly Refunded Money. This may be by mailing it to an accomplace of the scammer, or the scammer. They can also get the money from gift cards, and once that money is sent, there is no way to get it back.
We often need to invite people into our homes for repairs and maintenance that we ourselves are incapable or disinterested in attempting ourselves.
Many businesses teach their personel that it is making friends with the customer/victim more than telling them about the work that may need to be accomplished.
So, when they enter your home, they want to talk about your family, your pets, your religion, your politics, and no matter what it is that you talk about, they are always 100% in alignment with your stated views. They will talk about the job, and eventually with much proding, the actual final cost, but their main focus will be on YOU, not on the job at hand.
It is often best to treat such people as if they are your worst enemy. YES, there are legitimate businesses that will send out very pleasant technicians or workers that have nothing but resolving your issues in mind, but there are others who are predators, and you need to be able to determine the difference.
You might wonder HOW you could do this. Well, first, never accept a job quote immediately if it is your first quote, no matter how pleasant the person is. IF they have the best offer (closest to your needs) they will not mind if you call them back. A SCAMMER will always try to CLOSE THE DEAL on the first encounter.
Scammers and Con Artists alike will often use frightening situations and scenarios to entice you to do whatever method of fraud they are using, to get your money.
There is the GrandChild in Trouble scam. They have someone call you and simply say "Grandparent?" and if you respond in a postive manner, as if you have grandchildren but simply are not recognizing the voice, they will launch into a story of being in jail, or kidnapped, or in some kind of trouble that ends with you sending money through a system which has NO REVERSAL once you put the money into their system.
The BEST way to handle these calls, is to provide false information to the caller. Start by calling them by a name that is not in your immediate family. When they respond as if they are THAT person, you will KNOW it is a scam. At that point, you could lead the scammer on a wild goose chase of word salads, such as talking about cookie recipes you have tried, such as Spinach Choclate Chip, or Kale Sugar Cookies, etc. or better yet, simply disconnect the call.
MANY scammers target the recently widdowed because they know they are emotionally exhausted. They will claim the recently deceased had ordered some product, and to cancel the order requires that the person connect to their computer and allow the scammer access. Once they get into your computer, they will lie and claim they cannot see your accessing your bank, then they manipulate the code ON YOUR COMPUTER to make you believe they have over paid you to your bank, and you must return the money or they will die, starve, children will die, etc.
The best way to handle these types of calls are to claim you do not bank using a computer, that you must go to the bank, which is only two blocks away, and a nice clerk there always helps you because you were scammed once before, etc. etc. etc. again, or Just Disconnect the call.
NEVER let anyone convince you that you must send them money using Gift Cards. Like certain money sending businesses, once you give the scammer the money, it is gone forever as most of the scammers are working from other countries.
