Scammers are constantly finding new ways to target older adults, often using deceptive messages and emotional manipulation to gain their trust and steal their money or personal information.
From suspicious emails to fake payment demands, these schemes can be difficult to recognize at first. Experts are warning about several common tactics to watch out for, including these three scams. Read more about them and what they usually entail below.
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1. Shared Document Phishing Emails
Phishing emails are becoming increasingly convincing, with scammers sometimes posing as trusted services to trick people into clicking malicious links. One tactic involves sending fake document-sharing notifications that appear to come from familiar platforms like Dropbox, hoping recipients will open a fraudulent link and unknowingly expose their personal information.
"[These] use the Google or Dropbox interface to lure the recipient into granting permission to view, edit, or delete emails," explains software developer Chongwei Chen. "The email appears to come from your accountant, your son, your attorney, whoever happens to be the trusted sender in your contact list. But when you open the "shared document," the permissions dialog box that appears is actually asking for access to your inbox, not to a shared Google file. By clicking 'Allow,' you permitted the sender to read or delete all your emails and respond to your email as you."
2. Missed Payment Scams
Another tactic scammers use is creating a false sense of urgency by claiming someone has missed a payment or owes money. These messages may appear to come from legitimate companies or service providers, pressuring recipients to act quickly before they have a chance to verify whether the request is real.
"[This is] where criminals tell you that you have a tax penalty, that you didn't pay a highway toll, or that you have a virus on your computer," notes computer science professor Jason Hong. "But don't worry, you can send money or gift cards to our account and fix things right now."
3. Romance Scams
Romance scams prey on people's desire for connection, with fraudsters posing as potential romantic partners to build relationships online. After gaining someone's trust, they may begin asking for money, gifts, or other favors, exploiting the emotional bond they've worked to create.
"It might be from a fake SMS message from someone asking why you are in their smartphone contact list," adds Hong. "It might be a reply to a message you posted on a social media site. Their goal is to become your friend, your confidant, and even an online romantic partner. They will also convince you to invest your money in Bitcoin (on a fake site that they own), or that they have an emergency and really need money from you right now."
