#MiddleburyCT #Seniors #Scammers
“Your mission, should you choose to accept it …” Remember that quote, from the “Mission: Impossible” TV show? The show (1966-1973) tasked members of the team with stopping enemy forces, a job that seemed to be impossible but really wasn’t. That’s our challenge for the New Year, to stop the “enemy forces” who are the scammers that want to steal our money, our identification and our peace of mind. Some ideas for staying safe:
- Ask your senior center to host a seminar about scams aimed at seniors.
- Don’t click on links in email or text messages.
- Don’t answer the phone if you don’t know who it is. If a caller says they’re from your bank, hang up and call the bank to see if they really did call you.
- Don’t give out any information over the phone, no matter who it is. The IRS, Medicare or Social Security aren’t going to call you to ask for your account numbers or threaten to have you arrested.
- If a caller asks, “Can you hear me?” never say “yes.” That one word will be recorded and give them permission to authorize charges on your credit card, or to make a payment. Just hang up.
- If a company claims you’re having a virus problem with your computer and wants access to fix it, just hang up.
- Never announce on social media that you’re going away on vacation. It alerts thieves that your house will be empty.
- Go online and search for scams against seniors. Become familiar with all the tricks thieves use to get you to let down your guard. Learn about the red flags for the grandparent scam, the lottery scam, the counterfeit check scam, the undelivered package scam … there are just so many of them, and they rob seniors of billions of dollars each year.
Make your goal for 2025 to not fall for any scams. It’s not impossible.
© 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
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