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As President of The Seniors Center, Dan Perrin has built a grassroots movement of over 450,000 senior citizens who educate the American public and influence policy makers on issues that effect the quality of life for Americas retired people. The Seniors Center concentrates on securing the Social Security Trust Fund where it has advocated for repayment of funds diverted from Social Security into the Federal Budget. The Seniors Center is based in Washington, DC.
by The Seniors Center Blog

Utility Shut-Off Scams

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Are you afraid the utility company will shut off your power or water supply? You remember making the full payment of utility bills, and yet you receive a call from the electric or water company.

…Well, maybe you don’t remember exactly. It’s possible you might think you paid it, but didn’t.

But it’s also possible a utility bill scammer is targeting you.

Let’s consider a situation in which a person pretending to be an electric company representative calls you. After picking up, you’re told that your account is past due, but they’re ready to give you last chance to pay them off.

You know you paid the bills last week. However, the scammer seems to be authentic, having your previous bill information and balance. This will all make sense until you are asked to make a payment ‘instantly’ otherwise your utility will be shut off.

Yes, the scammer will sound authentic. The situation will be legitimate, but authentic utility company does NOT ask for immediate payments.

A phone spam protection company known as Hiya reported utility-shut off scams jumped by 109% last year. The threat of shutting off the power, gas or water pressures seniors to question themselves and make instant payments.

If you receive a call like this, here’s what you should do to protect yourself:

  • Contact your utility company: The first thing you should do after receiving such a call is contact your utility company directly. In the case of delinquent accounts, the company itself will provide numerous warnings before shutting off a utility. The moment a scammer threatens to cut off your power or water supply, you should hang up the phone. After that, check your phone book to see if the numbers of your utility company and the person who called you match or not. You can also check directly with the company if there are dues to be cleared.
  • Do not make any payments: Whatever happens, you should not make any instant payment. Even if you are threatened or intimidated, NEVER wire transfer the payments–they often can’t be traced or recovered once the scammer receives it.
  • Do not provide any confidential information: There is a possibility that the imposter might ask for your personal information such as your real name, mother’s maiden name, date of birth, bank account number or credit card details (bear in mind, the real utility company already has the information it needs to provide service and process payments). These scammers are masters of making up stories to gain access to such confidential information. If the caller starts asking personal questions, hang up the phone immediately.

It’s not easy to find out if you are scammed. Sometimes, the pressure and authenticity of the situation makes it difficult to identify the scammer.

However, if this happens, immediately report the scam to your local law enforcement agency.

by The Seniors Center Blog

Could the Equifax breach affect my Social Security benefits?

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Laurence Kotlikoff, a contributor at Forbes, asked the question we thought of–and likely many Social Security beneficiaries, too–after Equifax’s major security breach exposing up to 143 million of our Social Security numbers to potential criminals:

How could this massive breach of critical Social Security information affect our ability to claim or receive our benefits should a thief choose to target us?

While media outlets have focused on how such a breach might affect those still working in the form of phony loans and credit cards taken out with stolen Social Security numbers, very little attention has been paid to those currently or soon to claim Social Security benefits.

But according to Kotlikoff, beneficiaries absolutely have cause for concern.

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, one such concern may involve a program that scammers have already exploited with great success to hijack retirees’ Social Security payments.

My Social Security, a program that the Social Security Administration created to make accessing, editing, and managing your Social Security account much more convenient, is a huge target for thieves.

With just a few pieces of someone’s basic personal information, a thief can easily impersonate their victim, gain access to their account, and edit the details to reroute direct deposit payments into an account specified by the thief.

Typically, these details are acquired via manipulating the victim into offering them up. But a breach like this easily gives thieves everything they need to steal someone’s benefits without ever contacting him.

“Imagine you are 62, retired, but waiting till 70 to collect your Social Security benefit. Further, suppose that a thief with your personal data, including your Social Security number, notifies Social Security that you have moved and provides a new address. The thief then can file for your early retirement benefits and have the checks sent to this new address or wired to his/her bank account…

… Eight years later you turn 70 and you file for your retirement benefit only to be told you’ve been receiving it for 8 years. What do you do?”

It’s Kotlikoff’s opinion that people currently collecting Social Security have just as much of a reason to worry.

Kotlikoff offers several pieces of advice for beneficiaries looking to protect themselves from any potential Social Security theft that may result from this breach, including immediately making copies of your Social Security earnings record and any statements related to your benefits.

For more information about how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim in this latest data breach, you can read the rest of Kolitkoff’s recommendations right here.

by The Seniors Center Blog

Disaster scammers prey on seniors looking to help hurricane victims

“I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years now and like clockwork, they will come out of the woodwork, the scammers.”

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Steve Bernas, CEO of Better Business Bureau, is warning seniors and millennials–two ofthe most vulnerable groups to charity scammers–to keep an eye out for an inevitable and particularly appalling side-effect of large scale disaster: the disaster scammer.

These con artists capitalize on the good nature and generosity of their victims during times of crisis, stealing thousands of dollars from charitable people looking to help those affected by disasters. Whenever there is a community in crisis and a glut of media coverage and organizations reaching out for relief support, these thieves are sure to crawl out and trick donors into handing their money over.

After Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, scammers successfully bilked millions from people intending their money to go to good use helping victims rebuild their lives.

These scammers are truly the worst of the worst, stealing not only from donors, but also from the families who desperately need relief after losing everything. Learning how to spot these scams isn’t just about protecting your money, but also keeping thieves from rerouting relief funds away from those who genuinely need help.

This report at Chicago’s WGN9 offers sound advice to seniors wishing to make a donation to groups working with the victims of Hurricane Harvey. And with “potentially catastrophic” category 5 Hurricane Irma crashing into the Caribbean islands on its path towards Florida, victims of Harvey may not be the only ones looking for support over the next few days.

The BBB warns seniors to do the following before making any donations to a disaster relief organization:

  • Check, double-check, and triple-check the URL of any group soliciting donations for disaster victims. One symbol, number, or letter out of place, and it could be an imposter site.
  • Do a quick internet search to check the reputation of any group you’re considering donating to. If someone has had a bad experience giving to the group, you’ll most likely find out about it.
  • Use sites like Give.Org or CharityNavigator.Org to verify the legitimacy of the group you’d like to donate to.
  • DO NOT WIRE MONEY TO A CHARITY ORGANIZATION. Scammers love to pressure their victims into wiring money because it’s essentially the same as handing someone cash–they receive your money almost instantly, make a withdrawal before you know you’ve been scammed, and they disappear. There is usually no way for the sender to reverse this payment, and since the scammer can collect your money from multiple locations, tracking these fraudsters is next to impossible. Don’t EVER wire money to a charity organization.
  • Don’t click donation links you see on Facebook or emails. These links are easily intercepted by scammers. Seek out and research a charitable organization on your own, and don’t respond to random solicitations in your inbox.

by The Seniors Center Blog

Oklahoma Woman Loses $3,200 in Jury Duty Scam

Oklahoma City resident Karen West paid scammers $3,200.  She is one of the latest victims of the Jury Duty Scam. Karen told KFOR TV:

“He sounded really authentic and he told me I had missed jury duty,” she said.

Now she owed a whopper of a fine and was hours away from being hauled off to jail, or so she thought. 

“There is going to be a police car at your house,” she said. “He is on your way to arrest you.”

Why are Jury Duty Scams so Effective?

Like most scams, the Jury Duty Scam is believable.  By using a fake caller ID, the scammer can even make it look like an official call.  And in some scenarios, scammers may also send fake letters or email messages instead of calling you. Due to technology, advanced caller ID spoofing or phishing seem to be authentic at a glance. Their goal is to make you say those seven golden words: “I never received a jury duty order.”

Here are some of the signs to help you recognize you are being scammed:

  • The scammer might accuse you of skipping a mandatory jury duty. To avoid consequences such as imminent arrest you will be asked to pay a fee.
  • The scammer will ask for your personal information such as your real name, mother’s maiden name, date of birth and social security number to verify that you appeared for jury duty. There are instances when you might have missed a legal mandated jury duty and you receive a phone call from a ‘real’ government official. Here’s the catch, they will never ask for personal information or any payment of fines over the phone.

How to protect yourself from ‘Jury Duty’ scams?

Do not panic because if you do, you will lose the battle to protect yourself against the scammer.

Jury Duty scams are so common that even the United States court had to issue a notice to warn citizens about it. If you ever get a phone call from a person pretending to be a government official, here is what you should do:

  • HANG UP! Yes, you now know that they will provoke you to provide personal and other confidential information. Before they get to that point, hang up the phone.  If by some chance, the call is authentic (highly unlikely), the court will understand.
  • In case the scammer decides to send an email, you should know what it is. In most cases, an official jury duty summon is delivered via mail. An email would only be sent out if the mail is returned to the sender for unknown reasons. Nevertheless, you will never be asked for your personal or financial information.
  • If they ask to make payments using a debit/credit card or via wire transfer, you are being scammed. The best way is to never make any payments as an official jury duty will not ask you for any payment or fines.

If you are still unsure, contact your local law enforcement agency. The ‘real’ government officials will ensure that you are protected from such fraudulent schemes.

by The Seniors Center Blog

Watch Out For Government Imposter Scams

bankbyphoneHave you ever won big money in a local or foreign lottery? Have you even participated in such a lottery?

A few years ago, scammers got enough courage to impersonate government officials to scam money from senior citizens.

  • In one version of this scam you will receive a phone call from a person pretending to be a part of a federal company claiming that you have won a mega lottery. However, in return you will have to pay taxes to receive ‘YOUR’ prize.
  • Another version of the scam involves a government official warning you of an imminent arrest if you do not make immediate payments to clear off your debts.

Whatever tactics they use, like all scammers their goal is to get money from your end.

People working in government agencies will never ask you to pay any fees over the phone, send money to claim your prize or wire transfer funds to clear dues. Always ask for information in writing.

It is quite easy to identify an imposter pretending to be a government official. If you receive a call from a person who claims to be a part of a federal government agency, here is what an authentic agency does:

  • A federal government agency and its employees will always approach you via US Mail. Contacting via phone or email are not primary Therefore, if you never received a mail in the first place, you are a target of a fraud.
  • A federal agency and its employees are not permitted to ask for your personal or confidential information over the phone or otherwise. Do not trust anyone who wants you to provide him/her your personal
  • Most scammers want you to send money using wire transfer or they will ask you to deposit a check they would send. Such method is not used by any federal agency.

Protect yourself from government imposter scams

Here is how you can protect yourself from being a victim of government imposter scams:

  • Do not supposed to send money using wire transfer. This is their most favorite method to scam money as you cannot trace or get it back. Whenever a government imposter asks you to send money, wire money, deposit a check or provide personal information, simply It is better to say NO in the first place than realizing you have been cheated.
  • Prizes are meant to be free, right? Why would you pay for a prize? If you win a legitimate lottery or sweepstakes, you are not required to make payments in the form of taxes, shipping charges or insurance. If you have to pay, it is a scam.
  • Do not provide any personal or financial details to anyone. A good rule of thumb to remember is that government officials or employees are not permitted to ask for such details. If you are asked for an account number, Social Security number, or financial information, hang up the phone.