EverSafe Scam Watch

Scammers Target Retirement Programs for Identity Theft

Officials with Medicare and Social Security are urging members of the public to guard their account numbers with care to protect themselves from scammers who are intent on identity theft.

In a March email to beneficiaries, Medicare urged people to follow three guidelines to shut down fraud attempts:

1. Don’t give out your number. “If you get a call, text or email asking for your Medicare Number, don’t respond,” officials said. (The exception is for your doctor’s office or someone you are certain should have it, such as a trusted caregiver.)
2. Review the notices you get from Medicare. Charges for a health care product or service you did not order may be a sign of fraud in your name.
3. Remember that your Medicare card is valuable to scammers. Guard it as you would a credit card, officials advised.

You can report Medicare fraud – or voice your concerns – by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). To learn more about fraud and abuse in the Medicare program click here.

The Medicare warning came just days after the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Slam the Scam Day on March 6. The agency’s Office of the Inspector General spotlighted the day “to raise awareness of government imposter scams, which continue to spread across the United States.” In such scams, fraudsters pretend to be government employees on official business. The imposters then pressure their targets to provide personal information in order to fix a make-believe problem, such as a supposed hold-up in their benefits.

As part of Slam the Scam Day, SSA officials advised millions of Social Security beneficiaries to take the following steps:

• Recognize warning signs. These may include an offer of a prize or increase in benefits, demands to act fast, a request for payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards, gold bars, or a wire transfer.
• Report a scam immediately. Victims may be embarrassed to acknowledge they were tricked by a scammer, but they should bear something in mind: Informing authorities of a fraud may help save others. To report a Social Security scam, click here.
• Learn more about Social Security scams. Officials created a Scam Alert  fact sheet that contains basic information on how to protect yourself. You can click on it here, and share the knowledge with your friends.

That Voice on the Phone May Belong to AI – Not Your Loved One

A classic example of elder fraud is the grandchild scam, in which a scammer calls the elder and pretends to be their grandchild − with an emergency need for cash. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now warns that scammers are making robocalls to older adults – with a boost from artificial intelligence technology – to commit this crime.

In a March consumer alert, the FCC reported that scam robocalls are targeting grandparents, using the real names, phone numbers, and sometimes voices of their grandchildren, to trick them into handing over money. The scammers often get details on family members from social media. They then make calls in which they pretend to be a grandchild in trouble − begging for cash to get them out of a supposed mess,  an arrest, a car accident, or a bad debt.

The warning comes in the wake of a US Justice Department indictment that was unsealed in early March in Vermont. Prosecutors charged 25 Canadians in a $21-million “Grandparent Scam” that made calls throughout the U.S. from call centers in Montreal.

The scammers posed as grandchildren, while others impersonated attorneys representing them. They told the grandparents not to say a word about the situation, citing non-existent gag orders. In a few cases, they pretended be a bail bondsman and showed up at the grandparent’s house to collect the cash.

This group acted as “a transnational criminal enterprise with the sole intent of defrauding hundreds of retirees of their life savings by preying on their emotions and deceiving them into thinking that their loved ones were in peril,” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office.

To protect against becoming a victim of a similar scam, the FCC shared this advice: If you get a call from a distraught relative, call them back to make sure the call is authentic.

Don’t keep the information secret, even if you are asked not to tell anyone. Use caution if someone tells you to transfer money to them quickly or to send it via gift cards, a wire, or an app that won’t allow you to get the money back.

Remember that scammers now have the tools to clone voices, spoof phone numbers, and gain sensitive information from social media that you might think is private. Be skeptical when someone asks you for money, even if you think it’s a relative.

Be Wary of Celebrity Endorsements for Stock Purchases

Investors beware: Fraudsters are using fake celebrity profiles on social media to lure unsuspecting investors into buying overpriced stocks and cryptocurrency.

The Charles Schwab investment firm alerted its customers last month that the goal of these so-called pump-and-dump scams is to create a buying frenzy that pushes up the price of a stock. Scammers then unload their own shares at inflated values – leaving victims with stocks that are worth far less than what they paid for.

The alert from Schwab follows an AARP warning about phony celebrity endorsements that was recently reported by EverSafe Scam Watch. Schwab said the scammers create fake social media profiles of celebrities and sometimes even financial professionals. They then use social messaging apps, text messages and even phone calls to convince investors they are part of a private investment group that will make money fast. Once the price of the asset is high enough, the fraudsters cash in at the expense of other investors.

Schwab warned consumers never to rely on social media stock guidance and to ignore unsolicited messages that offer private group opportunities for investment. “Fraudsters may try to guide you step by step, asking you to open new brokerage accounts, buy specific stocks, and invest specific amounts. Never follow investment directions from someone you don’t personally know,” the firm warned.